


Video Games of Doom

by Velvet_Crush



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Betting, Dib gets hurt, Eventual Romance, F/M, GIR messes things up, Gaz gets mad, Hilarity Ensues, Humor, Minimoose squeaks, Minor Violence, Obsessed Zim, Video game tournament, ZAGR - Freeform, and kidnapping, gross stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-07-27 12:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 78,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16219154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velvet_Crush/pseuds/Velvet_Crush
Summary: After Dib steals one of Zim's alien devices, Zim kidnaps and ransoms Gaz in exchange for its return. While captured, Gaz gets Zim into playing video games, resulting in him becoming obsessed, both with the game and with her.





	1. The Device

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this years ago but never posted it for reasons, and after marathoning though the show, I decided to re-visit this story. After fine tuning it to suit the show and the characters a little more, I posted it during the 15th anniversary of Invader Zim and am now reuploading here with a few minor tweaks and corrections. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Device

It was another typical day at Skool and Ms. Bitters was giving another lecture on the history of the town.

"Where the ice cream parlor is…there was nothing!" Ms. Bitters spoke in a raspy voice. "Where the grocery store is…there was nothing!"

Most of the students sat in their seats, staring mindless at their teacher, drooling onto their notebooks as their minds gave way to boredom. One particular green skinned student however, was not paying attention at all as he fiddled with something under his desk cover.

"Where city hall is…there was nothing!" Ms. Bitters continued. "Where the park is…there was nothing! Where the chemical waste dump is…there was a flower shop."

Zim squinted as he inserted a small pen-like screwdriver into a flat rectangular device and began tinkering around with its screen. He had spent all night building the thing and was close to completing it. If only he didn't have to waste time in stupid Skool.

"Zim!"

Hearing his name, Zim quickly stuffed away the device, knocking his screwdriver pen off his desk in the process which then rolled across the floor. It soon came to a stop by the desk of Dib, who had been watching Zim out the corner of his eye the whole time. Seeing the pen roll against his foot, Dibs eyes lit up and he bent down to retrieve it.

"Is there something else you found more interesting than my lesson on historical insignificance?" Ms. Bitters asked as Zim hastily closed the top of his desk.

"Why…no teacher!" Zim responded in a fake sincere tone. "I was merely uh….taking notes! Yes! Taking notes! So that I don't miss a single word of your uh, precious wisdom." Zim then sat with a fake smile as Ms. Bitters eyed him suspiciously from behind her glasses.

"Speaking of which." Zim continued. "I seemed to have dropped my pen, which I was using to take said notes. Could you tell Dib to give it back to me?"

Dib looked up from the pen he was examining and held it tight in his fist. "Oh no you don't! This isn't a real pen! You all saw him using it a few seconds ago. It's some strange tool Zim was using to build his alien technology!"

Everyone in class sighed and rolled their eyes, having the heard Dib's 'Zim is an alien' rant numerous times before. Zim narrowed his eyes resentfully at him as Ms. Bitters approached Dibs desk.

"Enough of your nonsense Dib. Return Zim's pen to him so we can resume the lesson."

"I will not give it back!" Dib proclaimed holding onto the pen. "Think of all the advanced alien knowledge we can learn from this device!"

"Like why you has such a big crazy head?" The purple haired girl known as Zita yelled out, to the laughter and amusement of the class.

Ms. Bitter growled and with one swoop, grabbed the pen out of his hand. "I will not tolerate thievery in my classroom!"

"But, but, alien-" Dib pleaded.

"No more interruptions!" She hissed as she swooped over to Zim's desk and handed him back the pen. "Now all of you, pipe down now before I start feeding students to the underground classroom."

As the class ceased their laughter, Zim smirked and stuck his worm like tongue back at Dib who grimaced angrily.

"Now, take out your spreadsheets and get ready to draw notes on how to identify the inside of a squirrel's head." Ms. Bitters said, opening up her book of grotesque looking animals. Dib looked sideways at Zim, who opened his desk up and used the pen on the alien device to power it down.

"Just you wait Zim." Dib muttered under his breath. "I will find out what you're up to. And I will stop you."

* * *

The lunch bell had sounded and all the kids had gathered into the cafeteria. As usual, Zim sat alone at the far end of the back table while he continued to work on the device. Luckily the other kids were too preoccupied with eating their lunches to notice or care about what Zim was working on.

"Stupid teacher with her pointless lessons. Wasting my precious time." Zim mumbled to himself as he fumbled through his bag. "She'll pay dearly once I've taken over this pathetic planet. Now where's that power accelerator?"

Zim then pulled out a small metal lunchbox that had the Scary Monkey Show logo on its side and rummaged through it. He pulled out a small metal fork-like device and pressed a small button on the handle, causing the tips to extend and light up with blue sparks, which he then inserted under the device's screen.

From across the room, Dib was trying to spy on Zim while slowly eating his tuna sandwich. Sitting next to him was his sister Gaz, who had barely touched her ham sandwich as she stared almost unblinkingly down at the hand held Game Slave 2 she always played.

"He's up to something, I know it." Dib said between bites. "Probably some sort of weapon or mind control ray. I bet he's close to finishing it too! Probably gonna put his plan into action by the time we get back to class."

"Uh huh…" Gaz said, not paying attention to her brother's ramblings. There was a loud beeping noise as she destroyed another boss creature in the game. It was then followed by victory music and a robotic voice that said 'Congratulations! You have saved the president! Now it's time to MELT HIS BRAINS AND TAKE OVER HIS BODY!"

"Is that Super Space Conquerors?" Dim asked looking over her shoulder as she continued to rattle away at the buttons. "I thought you beat that game months ago?"

"I did." Gaz said not looking up. "Super Space Conquerors 2 is coming out in three days and I need to practice if I want to beat my high score against the rival invaders."

Dib raised an eyebrow. "How is it you're more willing to fight aliens in a video game, then you are in real life?"

"Hey, do you I tell you what to do with your spare time?" Gaz responded, scowling briefly at him. "Now shut up. I need to concentrate for this level."

Dib glared at her in annoyance and went back to eating his tuna.

Across the room, Zim had closed the cover on the device and stowed away all his tools and gadgets. He then held up his device and pressed the activation button, causing it to light up and start beeping.

"Ha! I've done it!" Zim proclaimed triumphantly. "My electricity disruptor has been completed! Once I turn this red dial, it will send out a frequency that will shut down all electronic devices within a two mile radius! With it, I shall sneak into the nearest military base and commandeer the most powerful weapon available, using it to forcibly overthrow the humans and take over the world!" Zim then threw back his head and laughed out loud.

At the table next to him, a boy and a girl were watching him laugh and stared at each other in confusion.

"Is that green kid talking to himself again?" The boy Chunk asked.

"Just ignore him." The girl Sara shrugged, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"And now, to use it to make my escape from this wretched hive of stink children!" Zim said as he jumped onto the table and pointed the device at the overhead light. "Let Zim's terrifying reign of terror begin…NOW!"

He turned the red dial to the right. Nothing happened. Zims smile faltered and he turned the knob again. Still nothing happened. Looking at the device, Zim shook it and began turning the knob repeatedly. "What the heck is wrong with this thing?"

As usual, none of the skool children batted an eye at the strangeness of Zim standing on a table talking to himself and continued to ignore him. Dib however dropped his sandwich in a panic upon seeing the device in Zim's hand.

"He's finished it!" Dib said leaping up. "I must stop him!"

"Uh huh…" Gaz said, not looking up as Dib raced toward Zim.

"Why…won't….this…WORK?" Zim yelled out as he began smacking his fist against the knob, which was smoking and emitting sparks.

"HEY ZIM!"

Zim then turned to see Dib jump onto the table and point at him. "Drop that device!"

Dib then lunged at Zim and grabbed him around the middle. The two fell off the table and onto the floor, each struggling to grab the disruptor as a few kids glanced over at them in bewilderment.

"Give me that device!" Dib yelled as tried yanking it out of Zim's hand.

"NEVER!" Zim yelled as he kept a tight grip on it. Grabbing the disruptor with both hands, Dib accidentally turned the knob in the opposite direction.

Now activated, the disruptor began powering up and shot a blast of energy at the ceiling. It struck the overhead lights but instead of shutting them off, it caused them to glow brighter. Kids finally began noticing the commotion as it quickly became brighter and hotter in the room, with their lunches and drinks starting to bake, boil and even spontaneously combust under the lights. One unlucky kid felt his eyebrows catch on fire and ran off screaming.

Zim and Dib stopped fighting and shielded their eyes as the intensifying lights grew brighter and brighter. Suddenly, the bulbs exploded all at once, spraying the children with glass and plunging the cafeteria into semi darkness.

The kids screamed and ran around the room in a panic. Both Dib and Zim dove in different directions to avoid being trampled, dropping the disruptor in the process which was then kicked across the floor.

"NO! My device!" Zim exclaimed as he drove into the crowd and began searching amidst the chaos.

While that went on, Gaz continued to play her game and ignore everything else going on around her. Suddenly, one of the louder bald headed boys named Screamy, tripped over a bag as he ran by and knocked into Gaz, causing her to drop her Game Slave which then slid across the floor.

"NO!" She gasped as she watched the Game Slave get kicked across the floor by the screaming kids.

"DUH, SORRY GAZ!" Screamy shouted stupidly.

Gaz then turned angrily to the boy. "You idiot! I swear, if you made me lose that level, I will put you in a world of pain!" She then grabbed Screamy by the collar and threw him across the floor. "Now go get it!"

The boy let out a frightened squeak and proceeded to look around for the game system, leading him to search in the opposite direction. Gaz pushed past the panicking kids and dove under the tables looking for game console.

On the other side of the room, Zim was on his hands and knees searching desperately for his disruptor which kept getting kicked across the floor by the panicky crowd.

"OUCH! Stop trampling me you fools!" Zim cried out in frustration as another kid stepped on his hand. He then felt something grab his leg and turned around to see Dib scowling at him.

"Give up Zim!" Dib called out over the screaming. "That device is mine!"

"We'll see about that!" Zim retorted and swiftly kicked Dib in the head before scuttling forward into the thick crowd of kids. Dib stumbled back, dazed and disoriented, as he quickly lost sight of Zim.

Finally Zim spotted his disruptor as it slid toward the condiment table and under the table cloth. Forcing his way past the kids, Zim quickly crawled toward it.

On the other side, Gaz was elbowing and punching any kid that crossed her path as she searched in vain for her lost game system. She finally spotted it as it was kicked under the condiment table and made a running dive for it.

Reaching the table at the same time, Zim and Gaz plunged their hands under the table cloth, grabbing the first thing they could get their hands on.

"Finally!" Zim said grabbing the handheld device. "The device is- HEY!" He then felt a sharp set of fingers dig into his hand and pull him forward. Looking to the side, he spotted the dreary purple haired girl as she tried wrenching the device out of his hand.

"You! Let go you filthy dirt child!" Zim shouted at her.

Gaz looked up at the green alien, but merely grimaced as she attempted to yank back the device. Because of the darkness, she did not realize it was actually the disruptor she was clinging to and not the Game Slave. Zim tightened his grip and put his other hand on top of Gaz's in an attempt to wrench it free.

"I said let go!" He shouted at her as he attempted to wrestle it out of her grip.

"You let go!" She yelled back, pulling even harder to the point where she was dragging Zim under the table towards her. Zim tried with all his might to hold on to his disruptor but even with two hands, he felt his grip slipping. He then spotted her game system nearby and thinking he could switch it, reached over to grab it.

Across the room, Dib stood up and rubbed his bruise covered head. He looked around desperately for a sign of Zim and finally spotted him, his legs thrashing from under a table cloth as Gaz attempted to pull him out.

"Hands off of it freak!" Gaz said as she pulled harder on the device.

"Gaz!" Dib gasped. Quickly, Dib looked around for a way to help her and spotted the fire alarm. Forgoing the consequences, Dib ran over and pulled the lever down, causing the alarm to sound and all the sprinklers to activate. All the kids screamed as they were drenched from head to toe and raced quickly out of the cafeteria.

"Got it!" Zim had finally grabbed the game system, which was still on and beeping. He was about to switch it with the disruptor when he felt a burning sensation on his legs. To his horror, he saw water seeping under the table cloth and felt his skin start to sizzle.

"GAHHH!" Letting out a piercing scream, Zim quickly stood up knocking the table over, releasing his grip. Gaz fell backward onto the floor with the disruptor in her hands as Zim, now drenched and wailing in agony, ran straight out of the cafeteria with the Game Slave still clutched in his fist.

Gaz sat up shaking her head and ran out of the cafeteria with the other children to avoid the sprinklers. Once she was in a dry spot, she went to check on her game and realized to her horror that it wasn't her Game Slave that she was holding on to.

"What the!? NO! Where did it...ZIM!" Seething with anger, she chucked the disruptor back into the cafeteria before racing off after him.

Just then Screamy, who was still searching for Gaz's Game Slave on the wet ground, felt something hard strike him on the head. "YEOUCHY!"

Rubbing his forehead, he then noticed the device on the ground and picked it up. "HEY GAZ! IS THIS THE THINGY YOU WANTED ME TO FIND?"

"I'll take that." said Dib as he appeared behind Screamy and took it out of his hand before he had time to respond. Dib then looked at the device in triumph "Finally! Zim is going down!"

Stowing the device in his pocket, Dib ran off toward the halls, leaving Screamy standing alone in the still drizzling room. "I THINK I WET MYSELF!"

* * *

 

In the boy's bathroom, Zim was in a stall furiously trying to dry himself off with toilet paper. He flinched as the flimsy paper disintegrated against his bare skin, which continued to sizzle and bubble painfully.

"Stupid overhead watering system!" Zim cursed to himself as he finished wrapping toilet paper around his arm. "But at least I got the disruptor back in my possession."

After wrapping his head in toilet paper, Zim reached into his pocket and took out the device.

"I just hope there was no permanent damage to-What The!?"

He was shocked and horrified to see the words 'Game Slave 2' printed on top of the device. Flipping open the cover, he saw not a red knob, but a message on the screen that read 'Game Over Loser: Play Again?'.

"NOOO!" Zim yelled out. "That wretched earth girl has my device! I must get it back immediately before-WOAH!"

Zim's foot got wrapped up in the loose strands of toilet paper, causing him to trip over and roll out of the stall onto the floor. Zim lay on his back, holding his head in pain as he squinted upward. He then found himself looking up into a large pair of familiar glasses.

"Have a nice 'trip' Zim?" Dib laughed mockingly down at him.

"Dib..." Zim glared.

"Look what I found in the cafeteria." Dib then held up the disruptor clenched in hand.

Seeing the device, Zim made a grab for it but Dib stepped back and pointed a small brightly colored pistol at him. "Back off! Take another step towards me and I'll shoot you with my Super Soaky Squirter XG-9000!"

Zim paused and stood up, glaring menacingly at Dib. "Listen well my annoyingly big headed foe. Hand over my disruptor right now, or I will cut out your spleen and stretch it over your ginormous head!"

"Ha, I'd like to see you try." Dib said smugly, keeping his pistol aimed at Zim. "This device is going nowhere except straight to my lab. Once I analyze it and show the results to my dad, he'll realize I was right about you all along and then he'll tell the whole scientific community! You'll be diced and sliced in the name of science!"

Zim gritted his teeth in anger. "That's right, laugh all you want Dib!"

"Um...I wasn't laughing." Dib stated, feeling confused.

Zim paused before pointing his finger at him. "Mark my words, I will get my device back. And then I will make you rue this day. RUE IT!"

"Pfft, good luck with that." Dib then turned and ran out of the bathroom. Zim chased after but lost sight of Dib in the crowd of kids that was being escorted out of the school.

"That puny loathsome human!" Zim growled to himself. "Thinking he can outwit the brilliant mind of the almighty ZIM! Well I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I will make Dib personally hand that device over to me. All I need is the right bait to lure him in with…"

Suddenly, Zim heard a crashing noise and peered around the corner. He was shocked to see Dib's sister Gaz tearing off Zim's locker door and rummaging through his stuff. At first he thought she was searching for more of his gadgets, but she tossed them aside like crumpled paper. She appeared to be searching for something particular.

"Hey Gaz." Gretchen, a small pig tailed girl with braces, asked as she approached Gaz, who was seething with anger at coming up empty handed. "Why are you going through that weird kid's locker?"

Gaz looked up, her eye slightly twitching in a crazed unnerving fashion, and grabbed Gretchen by the scruff of her shirt. "Where's Zim?"

"Hey let go of me!" Gretchen squealed as Gaz lifted her up with almost superhuman strength.

"WHERE IS ZIM!?" Gaz asked again. "That little green twerp has my Game Slave and I want it back NOW!"

"Help! She's crazy!" Gretchen cried out, trying to loosen Gaz's tight grip. Getting frustrated, Gaz threw the girl into a nearby garbage can and stormed off to search once more.

After watching her walk away and looking at the Game Slave in his hand, a grin formed on Zim's face. "I think I just found my bait…"

* * *

Fifteen minutes had gone by and Gaz was now out on the playground, searching in vain for Zim and her lost Game Slave. Everyone else had been brought outside due to the fire alarm and was too busy watching the fireman using their hoses to put out imaginary fires.

"Hurry up men! We need to save the classroom hamsters!" The fire chief yelled out, spraying a hose directly at a classroom window, causing it to shatter and allow dozens of hamsters plus one rabid badger to escape at once.

As Gaz continued looking around the playground, she heard a familiar cackle.

"Hey! Dibsister!"

Gaz turned to see Zim standing on a merry-go-round, grinning and holding up her Game Slave. "Looking for this?"

Spotting her Game Slave, Gaz's eyes widened and she gritted her teeth in anger before running towards him. She had almost grabbed it, when Zim pushed off the ground with his leg, causing the merry-go-round to quickly spin away from her. He jumped off on the other side and ran up and along the see-saw. Gaz followed after him across the see-saw, past the swings and up towards the slide.

"Give me back my game Zim or I'll put you in a nightmare of pain!" Gaz threatened as Zim climbed to the top.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Zim mocked, looking down at Gaz as he waved her game system around in a taunting manner before sticking his tongue out. Gaz let out an angry snort and started climbing up the ladder.

Zim went down the slide, landing just beside a set of garbage cans. As Gaz slid down after him, Zim grabbed one of the empty cans and held it up, catching Gaz inside it. He slammed the lid shut and jumped on top as Gaz banged around from within.

"Let me out of here, you creep!"

"Oh I will let you out," Zim said as he attached a locking device onto the lid. "AFTER your brother returns my device. But for now, you shall remain my prisoner!" Zim then let out a laugh and lifted the can over his head as he ran off skool grounds back towards his base.

* * *

 

Across the playground, Dib was examining the disruptor, his eyes lighting up with excitement as he looked over the strange tech.

"Look at the alien manufacturing on this thing! Dad will have to believe me when he sees this! Finally, everyone will know that I'm not crazy. They will know once and for all that Zim is a real life- Ouch!"

Dib rubbed the back of his head as he felt something sharp hit it. He turned around to see a stuffed piggy toy wearing a pointy dunce hat, lying on the ground with a note pinned to its snout. Picking it up, Dib recognized the alien's handwriting and read the note.

'Return my device by 6 o'clock or your creepy sister is doomed. Zim.'

"He has Gaz? No…" Dib's eyes widened in horror as he dropped the note and threw his arms up dramatically. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"There he is!"

Dib looked up to see a group of drenched students along with a row of menacing looking firefighters holding axes.

"That's him! He's the one who pulled the fire alarm!" One of the girls cried out.

"Freeze little boy!" The fire chief called out as he aimed a fire hose at Dib, who let out a shriek and ran in the opposite direction as the rest of the firefighters chased after him, yelling and waving their axes.


	2. Round One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After kidnapping Gaz and ransoming her for his device, Zim finds out that Gaz escaped and they end up...playing video games?

Chapter 2: Round One

"Welcome home son!" Said Zim's robot parents as they greeted him at the door.

Zim had arrived back at his base and walked into his living room, still carrying the garbage can that contained Gaz. He glanced over at the couch and immediately spotted his robot minion GIR, who was balancing on his head while watching a commercial on TV for Bloaty's Pizza Hog. As the gluttonous mascot devoured an entire pizza pie topped with refried pork wings, GIR turned to acknowledge Zim's presence and seemed mildly amused by the object he was carrying.

"Hello master! I didn't know you was a trash can now." GIR said, smiling stupidly as Zim walked towards him.

"No time to chat GIR. I need to get this garbage compactor down to the lab before-" Zim then paused as he stepped into something sticky. Looking down he saw a puddle of black ink next to a blobby mass of fused burger buns with squid tentacles sticking out of its sides.

"GIR, why is there a sandwich with tentacles on the floor?"

GIR stared over at the hideous mass of bread for a moment before his face lit up in realization. "Oh yeah! Hee, hee! I made that! There's more in the kitchen."

Zim took a few cautious steps into the kitchen and was shock to see dozens of greasy tentacle burgers crawling their way around the room, climbing up over appliances and up the walls, all while leaving trails of ink behind them.

GIR appeared next to Zim, still upside down and walking on his hands. "I was making squidy sammiches! The burger maker's brokeded though."

He then gestured over to what looked like a large metal cooking pot covered in buttons and dials, which sparked and sizzled as ink dripped down its side.

"You imbecile!" Zim glared at GIR. "I told you before GIR. DO NOT mess with the cloner! It hasn't worked since I tried cloning those hideous cybernetic squid monsters!"

GIR smiled vacantly at Zim who sighed in frustration. "Whatever, I'll deal with it later. Right now I need to get our 'guest' into a containment unit. Clean up this mess and meet me in the lab."

"Yay! We has company!" GIR said as he tried walking on his hands toward Zim, only to topple forward and onto the floor. Giggling to himself, he ran around and began collecting all the squid burgers, while Zim carried the garbage can back to the living room and over to a nearby plush chair. Pressing a button, he stepped into a hidden elevator shaft and rode it down to his lair. Once GIR had finished tossing all the burgers into one large pile on the couch, he grabbed his stuffed pig and went to flush himself down the secret toilet entrance.

* * *

The lift carried Zim down into his lair where his main control room resided next to the room full of glass containment units. He walked over to the nearest one and attached the garbage can into a metal opening. With the press of a button, the lid popped off and Gaz rolled out into the containment unit along with bits of trash. Zim then removed the trash can and closed the heavy metal door, twisting the wheel shut. Gaz stood up, looking extremely agitated and disgusted by her surroundings.

"Welcome to my lair creepy Earth girl." Zim said looking at her through the glass wall.

"I've been here before, you know." Gaz replied, wiping a banana peel off her shoulder before holding her nose. "Ugh, it still reeks of alien stink down here. Think I preferred the trash can."

Zim shot her an irritated glare which turned into a smug smirk. "Insult me all you like. Either way, you'll be staying here a while."

Gaz growled and ran up to the glass, beating her fists against it. "Let me out of here you jerk!"

"Not until your brother returns my disruptor." Zim stated, turned away from her. "Until then, you shall remain as my prisoner, under the watch of my trusted servant…GIR! Where are you!?"

The flimsy blue eyed robot then came sliding out of the flushing toilet chute, laughing and waving his little stuffed piggy around him. "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"GIR get over here and pay attention!" Zim commanded as GIR got up and stood before him. "I need you to make sure the Earth girl stays in this containment unit. It's very important-"

"Okay!" GIR responded, saluting him.

"It's very important-"

"Okay!" GIR repeated, saluting again.

"It's very-"

"Okay!"

"Will you let me speak?!" Zim yelled, a vein starting to throb in his forehead. "It's very important that you keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't escape! Dib will be here soon, and once we get back the device he stole from me, we will finally begin our plans to take over this pathetic planet!"

GIR stared at Zim with a vacant look.

"Now you may speak." Zim said.

"Okay!" GIR responded, saluting once more before holding up his pig and squeezing it. "Heehee! It's oinky!"

Rolling his eyes, Zim then changed out of his human disguise and went over to his computer to begin setting up the perimeter for Dib's arrival. Gaz watched as he took her Game Slave out of his pocket and set it down on the edge of the computer grid. Getting an idea, Gaz waited till the alien's back was turned before motioning toward GIR and tapping on the glass.

"Hey, stupid robot." Gaz said to GIR as he sat on the floor playing with his pig. "I'll give you another pig toy if you let me out of here."

Having heard her, GIR's face lit up as he looked at her excitedly. "Okay!"

Dropping the piggy, he went over to the metal door and twisted the wheel until it opened. Gaz then hopped out and walked past GIR who was waiting expectantly.

Looking around, she picked up the piggy GIR dropped and handed it to him. "Here."

"YAY!" GIR squealed in delight and hugged the piggy tightly. "It's what I always wanted!"

Zim had almost gotten the whole security system functional when Gaz casually walked by and picked up her Game Slave off the counter.

"Yes, a few more laser grids and some rotting egg projectiles, and Dib will have a welcoming he's never had before!" Zim grinned before laughing to himself. His laughter was cut short however as he heard beeping noises and spotted Gaz sitting on a nearby chair playing her Game Slave.

"What the- how did you get out here!?" Zim demanded.

Gaz said nothing and merely tilted her head toward GIR, who was rolling around on the floor laughing with his piggy and yelling 'Choo-choo!'.

"Oh right. Guess I should've seen that coming…well…Don't think you're off the hook!" Zim shouted, glaring at her. "You are going back in that containment unit even if I have to drag you in myself!"

He then made to grab her, but Gaz merely leaned away from his grip and began walking away. He tried grabbing her again but she again moved just out of his reach.

"Hold still!"

He then began chasing her around the room, trying desperately to grab her but was unsuccessful as Gaz ran circles around him with little effort, never taking her eyes off the game.

"Quit moving you puny, diminutive human!" Zim cried out in frustration as Gaz stood atop his chair.

Gaz finally looked away from the screen and glared at him in irritation. She then kicked him in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards against the computer grid. Gaz then jumped off the chair, her angry eyes boring into him.

"Listen loser. It's a little hard to play this game when you keep trying to put your SLIMY green hands on me." Gaz said in a biting tone. "I don't know what stupid 'take over the world' plan you have going on this time and frankly I don't care. Just let me finish playing my Game Slave in peace and then you and my brother can go back to being idiots."

With that said, Gaz walked away and returned her attention to her game.

Zim stood up, painfully holding his chest, and gritted his teeth in anger. "You do not tell ZIM what to do! Now get back in that containment unit or I'll-"

_"Congratulations. You have successfully landed on earth. Time to celebrate by ENSLAVING MANKIND!"_

"Eh?" Zim asked, his interest suddenly peaked. He then walked over to Gaz and looked over her shoulder as he spotted little purple aliens dancing on the screen as they whipped little humans who lay at their feet.

"What is this?" Zim asked looking at the screen. "Some sort of invasion simulation?"

"It's a game you idiot." Gaz responded not looking up. "I'm playing as an alien race bent on world domination. I have to enslave the humans and train them as my personal army before the green aliens come and try to take over for themselves."

Zim raised an eyebrow but then grinned when he saw the tall green aliens, who reminded him a lot of the Irkens. "Ha! As if your pathetic little purple army can withstand the awesome power of a taller alien race! I'd like to see you try-"

_"Congratulations! You've destroyed the first wave of green fighters. NOW DANCE ON THEIR CORPSES!"_

"Not possible!" Zim said, shocked by how easily Gaz had defeated the game aliens. "How did you defeat them? Your aliens are short and were outnumbered ten to one!"

"It's a simple tag team combo. Even the dumbest of players can figure it out." Gaz responded. "I could pull off the same moves with a human army and still easily defeat these guys."

Zim looked offended and glared at Gaz. "I don't believe you! There's no way a puny human army can withstand the might of a tall alien fleet!"

"Of course they can. Just let me start a new game and I'll show you how." Gaz retorted.

"Ha! As if I would waste my time with your inferior, defective gaming system." Zim scoffed. "It can't even produce an accurate invasion simulation. I'll have no part of it!"

"Fine. I'll just go back to playing by myself then." Gaz said turning her attention back to the game. Zim tried walking away but couldn't help but listen to all the sound effects as Gaz blew up more aliens.

_"You've defeated the second wave of green fighters. NOW WEAR THEIR HEADS AS TROPHY'S!"_

Zim immediately found himself looking over Gaz's shoulder again and watched as her purple aliens easily wiped out wave after wave of green aliens with extreme accuracy and speed. He was surprised by how powerful they were despite their size and watched intently as Gaz would tap the control buttons in a quick and precise manner. The action was almost mesmerizing and he found himself wondering how she was doing it.

"You know, it's a little hard to concentrate with you breathing down my neck." Gaz said, not taking her eyes off the screen. "If you still want to play, then just say so. Otherwise, let me beat these aliens in peace."

"What? No! I was just, uh…." After some inner debating, Zim's curiosity got the better of him and he growled in defeat. "Alright fine! Show me what type of game play mastery you possess. And give me a controller so that I may learn it as well."

"This system doesn't come with controllers." Gaz explained. "We'll have to hand the Game Slave back and forth. Though if I weren't being held captive, I could go home and get my link cable."

Zim chuckled in amusement. "Nice try Earth spawn. But there's no need for that primitive technology here." He then took the Game Slave out of Gaz's hand much to her chagrin.

"Hey! I didn't save!" Gaz exclaimed trying to grab back the game.

Zim removed the cartridge from the Game Slave and stuck it into a slot on the computer grid, causing the enormous computer screen to light up and project the game's starter screen in enhanced high definition 3D graphics with intense surround sound.

_"Super Space Conqueorors! Press start to play or be destroyed!"_

Instead of being mad, Gaz looked up at it in awe, clearly impressed, much to the Irken's satisfaction. Two handheld controllers then popped out of the controlled panel with Gaz and Zim each grabbing one.

"Why do you have game controllers in your computer?" Gaz asked.

"I modified existing controls from my nano ships to be more user friendly. These controllers are similar to the system you use so there shouldn't be much difference in game play. Now then, enough nonsensical exposition. Let the battle for alien superiority BEGIN!" Zim said, clenching his fist in determination as two chair appeared beneath them.

"Pff, whatever." Gaz said, sitting down as she pressed the start button.

* * *

Time had passed and it was nearly 6 O'clock by the time Dib had finally arrived at Zim's base. After escaping from the angry firemen, Dib went back home to his lab to construct a new version of the disruptor. Not wanting to give up the real device to Zim that easily, Dib had made a duplicate with the broken remains of Gaz's old Game Slave One. He hoped that it would fool the alien long enough for him to rescue Gaz and get the incriminating technology to his dad.

"Alright Dib" He said to himself, standing defiantly outside Zim's front gate with the device. "Time to rescue your sister and become a hero!"

Inhaling deeply, Dib held up a large baseball bat and let out a battle cry as he charged forward into Zim's yard, flailing widely as he smashed up gnomes, fake flowers and bushes. Once those were all destroyed, Dib then charged through the unlocked front door flailing wildly while knocking over vases, coffee tables and any other item that might attack him.

Finally Dib calmed down, taking deep breaths as he noticed that nothing had rose up to attack him or even stop him. Confused, Dib looked around and noticed GIR sitting serenely on the couch, surrounded by dozens of tentacle burgers and watching a commercial featuring a pig eating bars of soap.

Unperturbed, GIR looked casually at Dib. "Oh howdy stranger….did you bring the milk today?"

"You, robot!" Dib pointed. "Where is Zim? Where is he keeping my sister?"

"They's playing video games downstairs. It's so cute!" GIR gushed as he kicked his legs with glee.

"Gaz playing video games with…Zim?" Dib asked, raising a skeptic eyebrow at the robot. "You must be more defective then I thought."

"I don't knows what you means." GIR said, as he reached into his head and took out two partially melted ice cream cones, one of which he proceeded to lick while the other he handed to nearby tentacle burger, which proceeded to squirt ink onto it.

"Okay so…can you bring me to them?" Dib asked.

"Just flush the toilet!" GIR said happily, pointing to the toilet in the corner that kept spewing out green water. Dib cringed but reluctantly made his way over.

* * *

Down in the lair, Zim and Gaz had been playing the game non-stop and had made it to the final showdown, with Zim pitting his green alien against Gaz's purple alien in a race to the White House.

"Ha! Take that!" Zim yelled out loud, as his alien threw a grenade at hers. "You cannot defeat the mighty ZIM!"

"We'll see about that!" Gaz yelled back as her alien caught the grenade and threw it back, causing Zim's alien to get knock aside and crash into a wall, much to his irritation.

Even though he hadn't played the game before, Zim managed to master the controls enough keep up with Gaz, despite his army dying several times and Gaz having to stop him from smashing the screen with his controller in anger.

"These simulated controls are so primitive!" Zim exclaimed, as he quickly tapped the buttons. "They are too slow for my advanced superior reflexes."

"It doesn't take advanced reflexes to hit the jump button." Gaz said dryly as Zim's character went crashing into another wall.

"Oh no you don't!" Zim then hits a bunch of buttons and the wall he ran into exploded. His tall green character then crashed through a window into the Oval Office at the same time as Gaz's purple alien. Both characters approached a human who appeared to be the president, before turning to each other to fight.

_"Final level! Who will capture the president and conquer Earth? Defeat each other in a one on one battle to THE ULTIMATE BLOODY DEATH!"_

"This is it girl spawn." Zim said glancing sideways at Gaz. "The moment where I, ZIM, conquer all with my mighty superior…Earth conquering skills! Prepare to be defeated!"

"Bring it on." Gaz said, clutching her controller with determination.

_"ROUND ONE…FIGHT!"_

Immediately there was a loud tapping of buttons as Zim and Gaz began furiously unleashing wave after wave of deadly attack combos. On screen, the tall green alien leader and the short purple alien leader fought ferociously, punching, kicking, zapping and even barfing on each other.

"HA! I'm beating you!" Zim exclaimed, grinning at Gaz who continued to mash buttons nonchalantly.

A loud flushing noise was heard as Dib slid out of the elevator shaft, soaked from head to toe in dirty toilet water. After coughing up a fish head, Dib clutched the fake disruptor and stood up defiantly.

"I am here Zim!" Dib declared. "And I have your device. Now release my sister or suffer the wrath of-"

Dib then stopped short as his jaw dropped in shock. The robot was right! Zim and Gaz were playing video games together!

"Gaz, what are you doing!?" Dib cried out in horror.

Gaz motioned her head slightly. "About time you got here. Hang on, I'm about to win this."

"Win? Ha!" Zim jeered "I've drained half your life bar and am two moves away from complete and utter annihilation! There's no way you can-huh?"

Suddenly Gaz tapped the buttons on her controller like crazy, causing the purple alien on her screen to start flashing brightly and grow big gigantic muscles. It seized Zim's green alien between its now massive arms and squeezed its body tightly until the heads popped off, then proceeded to tear off the arms and legs. Next, it threw the body to the ground and tapped a button on its wrist cuff, causing a large laser gun to pop out and zap the green alien's headless corpse into ash. Finally, the purple alien picked the green alien's head off the ground, stuck it on top of a flag and waved it around while the screen flashed the words 'DECAPATALITY!'

Zim dropped his controller in shock as the narrator's voice said "Congratulations! You have defeated the rival aliens and conquered the world…NOW DANCE ON THE ASHES OF YOUR ENEMIES!"

"Okay I'm done, let's go." Gaz said as she casually putting down the controller and took her game out of the computer before walking toward the still stunned Dib.

"Stop right there!" Zim yelled, jumping up from his chair. "You cheated!"

Gaz stopped and looked Zim in annoyance. "Don't be a sore loser. I used a highly complex one-hit fatality move to end the game so I could go home. If I wanted to really cheat, I would've used that move at the beginning of the battle without at least giving you a chance to win."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Zim screeched pointing at her. "YOU LIE!" Long metal legs then came out of Zim's backpack and carried him towards Gaz in an attempt to intimidate her.

"Back off Zim!" Dib called out, holding up the device as he stepped in front of Gaz. "Take another step toward her and I'll destroy your precious device."

Zim's metal leg batted Dib out of the way, causing him to fall to the ground and drop his make-shift device, which shattered into a dozen pieces. Zim then lowered himself toward Gaz, who looked up at him with her usual unimpressed scowl.

"I demand a rematch!" Zim commanded. "This instant!"

"What's the point?" Gaz asked. "I'll just use the same move to beat you over and over again. Besides, I'm tired and I want to go home."

"Mark my words Earth girl." Zim threatened. "This is not the end! I will not stop! I will not rest! Until I have reclaimed my title and defeated you and your pathetic little-"

In the blink of an eye, Gaz reached over and pulled out a loose screw she noticed was sticking out of one of Zim's metal legs. The leg then instantly broke and Zim toppled over to the side and onto the ground in a mess of tangled metal.

Flicking the screw away, Gaz casually walked away from Zim. "Later weirdo."

Gaz then grabbed her Game Slave off the counter and strolled over to her brother, who lay on the floor holding his gigantic bruised head, pulling him to his feet before guiding him toward the lift.

Struggling out of the metal limbs, Zim narrowed his eyes scathingly at Gaz as she and Dib entered the lift and exited out of his lair.

"Computer! Why are my metal limbs not properly adjusted?" Zim asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, must've forgot to tighten the screws on the left side. Fixing metal limbs now." The computer then detached Zim's PAK from him and began making adjustments.

While that went on, Zim began pacing back and forth, seething in anger from defeat before letting out an exasperated cry. "Argh, this is a travesty! How dare she make a fool of the almighty Zim!" He then kicked a nearby table over out of frustration, sending the glass vials on it smashing to the ground.

"I just set that up you know." The computer sighed in annoyance.

"The Dib sister is clearly more resourceful then I thought." Zim said to himself, ignoring the computer. "So much more powerful then one of her stature...No! I mustn't let her get to me! Just because she possesses skills that would make even the Tallest-"

Zim gasped and stopped dead in his tracks. "The Tallest! They will terminate my mission for sure if they knew I failed an invasion simulation! Even worse, that I lost against a tiny Earth child!" His panic gave way horror. "I need to redeem myself! Redeem the honor of the Irken race! But how?"

Zim waited for an idea to come but none did. He then continued to pace back and forth, mulling over his options. "I could challenge her to a rematch, but she'll probably use the same cheat code to win again. Even if I stopped her from using that one, she probably has others at her disposal. Argh, it's no use! Even if we have numerous rematches, her superior skills and knowledge of the game-play far outweighed my own….unless…"

Zim's eyes then brightened and he raced to his computer chair. "Computer! Look up 'Super Space Conquerors Cheat Codes'"

"Processing. PROCESSING!" The Computer beeped for a bit before showing dozens of sites with complex game codes. "Success. Results show over 10,000 sources, including code lists and instructional video."

"Excellent…" Zim grinned, rubbing his hands together before chuckling evilly. "I will learn all the tricks, including the counter code to her super fatality move and an even BETTER super fatality move! She will cower before the almighty intelligence and superior gaming skills of ZIM!" He then threw back his head and laughed maniacally.

There was then a flushing noise as GIR came barreling down the travel tube with a piggy in hand, sliding across the floor before stopping at Zim's feet.

"HIIII Master! Guess what? We had company!" GIR asked with glee, squeezing his piggy.

"Yes GIR, we did…" Zim said looking down at GIR in annoyance. "And now we must prepare for future company. That scary Earth girl will be coming back here soon for a rematch and when she does, I shall regain the glory that is mine!"

"ALRIGHT! I liked her. She's hit me so hard it made my head go 'WooooWoooooWooooo'!" GIR's head then spun around in place so fast that it fell off his body. However that did not discourage GIR from talking. "But why would she come back? I thought she no liked you?"

"Ha! Liking has nothing to do with it. She will come." Zim grinned as he looked at the cheat codes. "One way or another…"


	3. Rematch?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After losing to Gaz, Zim tries to secure a rematch by any means necessary.

Chapter 3: Rematch?

The next morning, Dib and Gaz had just left their house and began their daily walk toward Skool. Along the way, Dib was describing his efforts to examine Zim's device in excruciating detail, all while Gaz played on her Game Slave, having restarted a new game in an attempt to ignore her brother's ramblings.

"-and then, sparks began to fly out and the device let out this huge wave of energy that nearly burned my face off! It was so cool!" Dib said excitedly.

"Uh huh…" Gaz said, not paying any attention as her thumb tapped away at her game.

"Listen Gaz, I'm sorry I left you alone with Zim for so long yesterday." Dib admitted regretfully. "I am grateful for your sacrifice though. Must've been awful pretending to be-friend him just so you could buy me some time."

Gaz said nothing and continued to play her game.

"But don't worry little sister, your efforts weren't wasted!" Dib said declared optimistically. "Once I crack the alien technology, we'll be able to replicate it and use it to finally take down Zim!"

Again, Gaz said nothing but grimaced as she began tapping the buttons on her controller harder than usual, as her alien creature started whipping a particularly big headed human boy.

"Stop right there!"

Dib turned to see Zim in his human disguise, standing behind them and pointing menacingly in his direction. Gaz glanced up slightly and upon seeing Zim, scowled and returned her attention to her game.

"Zim." Dib narrowed his eyes and stood defiantly as the alien began making his way towards him. "Stay back! You won't find the device you seek! I have it safely hidden away at my-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Zim said, casually shoving Dib aside as he walked toward Gaz, who made no acknowledgement of Zim's presence and continued to walk toward Skool, her eyes glued to her Game Slave.

"I've been thinking a lot about our match from yesterday little human," Zim said as he strolled casually alongside her. "And after spending some time dwelling on my unfortunate failure and SEETHING WITH RAGE, I spent the remaining nightly hours coming up with a solution you may find...intriguing."

Zim waited for her to respond but she continued playing her game, determined to ignore him.

"Hey! Get away from my sister you hideous space monster!" Dib exclaimed as he ran to catch up them. "Haven't you made her suffer enough!?"

Without even looking at him, Zim aimed his wrist over his shoulder and shot a laser beam from his watch back at Dib, knocking his glasses off and sending them flying across the sidewalk.

"No! Those are technologically enhanced prescriptions!" Dib exclaimed chasing after them.

"Here's my proposition." Zim continued, lowering his arm back down. "A rematch, between you and I in Super Space Conquerors. Three rounds, best two out of three. The winner will be declared the most superior of their race and will possess all bragging rights that come with, yada yada yada...WHAT SAY YOU!?"

Gaz finally stopped walking and groaned in annoyance. "I already told you, there's no point in a rematch. I'll just use cheat codes to beat you again. You'd be wasting your time and mine."

"Ah, but this time, I've made use of my wasted time!" Zim exclaimed as he pressed a button on his watch again, projecting a long list of what appeared to be gaming codes. "I now have all the cheats downloaded at MY disposal! And I've been studying up on technique and combos. This time we shall be evenly matched and I will have a chance to showcase my VASTLY SUPERIOR invading skills!"

Gaz arched her brow skeptically at him. "So you're saying we'd be a stand still for every round because we both know all the cheats and combo codes? Sounds boring to me."

"Boring!? I..uh...huh. You have a point there." Zim admitted in realization.

"Exactly. Come back when you have a real challenge."

Before Zim could respond, Gaz quickly walked ahead of him and did not look back. Zim watched her go and narrowed his eyes in vindictive determination.

"Yes, got um!" Dib cried out as he stumbled in front of Zim, putting back on his partially cracked glasses. "Now, as I was saying Zim. I-"

Zim then shoved Dib into a nearby bush and raced after Gaz toward Skool, resulting in Dib getting stuck in a weasels nest and being set upon by its angry inhabitants.

* * *

Once she arrived at Skool, Gaz quickly unzipped her backpack and began putting things away in her locker. As she closed the door, she was momentarily surprised then extremely annoyed to see Zim standing behind it, smiling creepily at her.

"What do want now?" Gaz asked.

Zim grinned and then held up a small green flash drive that was shaped like an alien with an Irken symbol on it.

Gaz sighed and crossed her arms. "If you're waiting for me to ask what that is-"

"I bet your wondering what this is." Zim interrupted, holding up the tiny device between his fingers. "I shall explain. I have modified this primitive computer accessory and have upgraded it to hold infinite amounts of data. It now contains all sorts of special features for the game, including extension packs, bonus materials and we can play with unlockable powers plus all manners of death weaponry. Does that make it more challenging for you?"

Gaz let out a yawn and walked around Zim. "Please. I played with all those so called 'special features' already. There's nothing 'special' about them. Well, except for the gauntlets that shoot flaming snot balls out the fingers. Anyways, nice try newbie."

"But I, uh...Newbie!? How dare you trivialize me and my efforts you-you little…little person!" Zim angrily yelled out after her. "Hey! Get back here so I may insult you some more! HEY! HEY! HEY!"

Gaz rolled her eyes and did not respond, instead continuing on toward class while Zim continued to shout at her. Zim growled in agitation at being ignored but before he could follow her, he was distracted by an announcement over the intercom.

"Attention students. This is a reminder that the tardiness patrol robot will be going into effect today. Anyone caught in the halls at the end of this announcement or wandering the school halls without a pass will be subjugated to detention, as well as an hour in the scary room. Starting…NOW!"

Suddenly there was a loud banging noise followed by loud heavy footsteps. All the students left in the hall bolted for various rooms, with some even throwing themselves into their lockers. Zim then watched a giant menacing looking robot covered in spikes approached him from around the corner. It focused its red glowing eye on him and said in a robotic voice:

"You are tardy. Present late pass."

Zim let out a horrified scream and raced after the other children as the robot unveiled its large taser arm and began chasing after them.

* * *

All throughout class, Gaz was finding it hard to concentrate on her work. She was eager to get back to her game so she could finally finish beating her high score, and found herself glancing at clock and wishing she didn't have to waste time being in class. As she stared longingly down at her bag, which contained her game console, she noticed something move out the corner of her eye. Turning her head, her eyes landed briefly on the door and a giant pair of eyes that appeared to be staring at her. Gaz blinked and it was suddenly gone. She then heard a shuffling noise and looked around the classroom and noticed something moving above the ceiling tiles. Shaking her head, she attempted to get back to her school work but found herself looking back toward her backpack. She then glance up toward the window, where again she saw the same pair of eyes staring back at her. 

"What the-!?" Gaz wondered out loud.

"Did you say something Gaz?" Her teacher Mr. Elliot asked as he briefly stopped writing on the chalkboard.

Gaz looked at her teacher and back at the window, the eyes now gone. "Um, no sir. Actually, is it alright if I use the restroom?"

After receiving his nod of approval, Gaz grabbed her bag and the bathroom pass and headed out into the hall. Already she felt a little better being out of class and took her time strolling toward the girls room, figuring she could use her alone time to play a level from her game. Suddenly she heard a faint set of footsteps following behind her and turned to look. No one was there. Looking around skeptically, Gaz continued forward and soon reached the girls room where she camped out in one of the stalls to play her game.

Once she completed a level of the game, Gaz left the bathroom and stopped at a nearby water fountain for a quick drink. As she leaned over and took a sip, she noticed the same pair of giant eyes in the faucets reflection and turned to see Zim standing directly behind her.

"Hey, how you doin?" Zim asked, cheerfully waving at her.

Gaz chocked on the water, stumbled back and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. "Zim, what are you doing here? Have you been following me?"

"I have no idea what you mean, my overly paranoid future opponent." Zim said, feigning innocence . "I merely arrived here accidentally on purpose to tell you that I have found a way to meet your unreasonably high demands. Right now the new technology for it is being developed as we speak. I expect you to be impressed once it's done, as well as sorry that you did not sooner accept your inevitable rematch against me. Now begin working on your apology speech little human!"

Gaz glared at him and turned on the fountain full blast before sticking her finger in the faucet, causing the water to shoot right into Zim's face.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! IT BURNSSSS!"Zim cried out in anguish as his skin sizzled and he ran screaming back down the hall. Gaz took advantage of his distraction and headed back toward class, hoping he was in too much pain to follow her.

Zim had turned the corner and was trying desperately to wipe the stinging liquid off his face, when he heard a loud bang and saw the front doors of the school fly open.

"Hold it...right there... Zim!"

Dib entered through the door, covered in leaves and scratch marks and was breathing heavily as if he had just escaped from a stampede. "You can't get rid of me that easily. I won't let you get away with…whatever it is your planning to get away with!"

Before Zim could respond, there was a loud thumping of heavy footsteps and the tardiness robot appeared from around the corner. It focused its red glowing eye on Dib, who stood rooted to the spot, allowing Zim to sneak off and hide in a nearby broom closet.

"You are tardy. Present late pass."

"Um…I don't…have one?" Dib said uneasily.

"Second chance. Present late pass." The robot repeated.

"Can't I just head to class right now and we pretend this never happened?" Dib asked, feeling scared.

"Unauthorized bribery. You will now be escorted to the scary room to receive your punishment and detention slip."

Immediately a rope shot out of its arm and latched onto Dib's leg. The robot then turned and began heading in the opposite direction, causing Dib to fall on his back and be dragged behind the robot.

"No wait! It's not my fault! It was the weasels that slowed me down. The weasellllss!" Dib cried out as the robot dragged him around the corner.

Zim peeked out from the broom closet and grinned upon seeing Dib's capture. Once he and the robot were gone, Zim sneaked over to his locker to retrieve some gadgets and quietly made his way over to the boys room, where he spent the remainder of first period perfecting his new tech to use in his rematch against Gaz.

* * *

Later on during lunch time, Dib and Gaz were waiting in line to receive their portions of grey inedible gruel. Gaz once again was playing her Game Slave, which she held in one hand while holding her lunch tray with the other. Dib meanwhile was shaking and looked visibly traumatized. He could barely hold his tray steady as the lunch lady slammed a scoop of gruel onto it, which in turn splattered all over his shirt.

"Watch it boy! Your getting the good parts on the floor!" The lunch lady barked at him.

"S-sorry." Dib said as he stepped out of line. "Oh Gaz. It was awful, just awful! The indescribable horrors I experienced in the scary room. They were…were…indescribable!"

"Uh huh…" Gaz said, ignoring him as she too got her portion of gruel.

Since the cafeteria was still in ruins from yesterday, the students ate outside on the benches. Just as Dib and Gaz found a spot to eat their primordial goo, Gaz's Game Slave lit up and a voice yelled:

" _Congratulations! You have beaten your top score! Time to move onto the next game YOU PATHETIC LOSER!_ "

"Finally." Gaz said shutting off her game as she sat down on the bench. "At last I'm ready for Super Space Conquerors 2".

"Don't you realize there are more important things at stake than that stupid game?" Dib asked as he sat next to her. "For instance, I noticed Zim's been absent from class all day but keeps showing up in the halls, which means he must be in the middle of one of his evil schemes. If I can only figure out what it is..."

"Absent? Please. He's been hounding me since this morning and is being a bigger creep then usual." Gaz said as she began prodding her food with a spoon.

"Hey that's right. What was he talking to you about this morning exactly?" Dib asked.

"Stupid stuff." Gaz said simply and took a bite of the gruel, causing her to gag in disgust.

"Hmm, he must be trying to find out where I hid the device and is going through you to get to me." Dib contemplated. "Well it's not going to work! I made sure to hide it in a really secure location. It won't be long now Gaz! Now long until we expose Zim as the menace he is! Just imagine all the praise, the recognition, the fame we'll get for capturing a real live alien! We could finally learn how to harness his space tech and perfect space travel! To fly out among the stars and-"

Gaz then grabbed Dibs lips and held them closed. "Don't care. Don't want to care. Just stop talking."

She then released them and continued prodding her gruel with her spoon while Dib rubbed his sore lips.

"I have returned, game-playing dirt child!"

Dib looked up and saw Zim standing by the ball court, holding up a brand new device.

"He's back! Don't worry Gaz, I'll protect you!" Dib declared as Gaz sighed and leaned her head on one hand while she continued to play with her food.

Zim then strolled over to their table and was annoyed to see Dib, poised and ready for a fight, standing in front of where Gaz was seated. "Um, do you mind?"

"Mind that you're trying to use my sister as part of your evil plan? Of course I do!" Dib retorted. "Now leave her alone before I make you leave!"

Zim then looked over Dib's shoulder and gasped. "Hey look! It's a BigFeets!"

"What? Where?" Dib asked, looking around. Zim then kicked him in the rear, causing him to stumble forward onto the ground. Dib turned over and looked up to see the alien holding his tray of sloppy gruel over his head, which he then dumped on Dib's face.

"My eyes! I can't see!" Dib yelled as he stumbled about, trying to pry of the sticky gruel off his face. Some of the kids looked over and began laughing at Dib as he clawed helplessly at the goo that covered his glasses. Even Gaz looked up and smirked in amusement at her brother's misfortune.

With his nemesis subdued, Zim sat down in Dib's seat beside Gaz, whose smirk disappeared as she once again attempted to ignore the irritating alien.

"Yes, yes, I know you've been eagerly awaiting to see what sort of new challenge I have come up with to add to our rematch." Zim said pompously. "Well I'm happy to say I have finally come up with something that would meet even your absurdly high standards."

Zim then shoved Dib's tray aside before placing his device on the table, which turned out to be a make-shift Game Slave 2. Pressing the button on it, the device activated and displayed a projection of the Scary Monkey Logo. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the green alien flash drive from before and inserted it into the systems port.

"It took longer then I hoped to develop, but I managed to upgrade the drive so that it may unlock any code in any game system. This includes secret hidden levels the programmers forgot to delete, complete with customized traps, obstacles and invisible enemies set on the highest difficulty that can kill in one hit."

Gaz then glanced at the screen which showed a demo of the Super Space Conqueror's alien getting pummeled by a dozen over muscled electrified arms floating in mid air all while bouncing around in a room that appeared to be filled with lava, spikes and gelatin.

Zim then removed the flash drive and tossed it to Gaz, who caught it in one hand. She looked down at it and arched one eyebrow up at Zim.

"Keep it if you like. I just want to make sure what you just saw will be challenging enough for our rematch." Zim grinned, expecting her to be impressed.

Instead, Gaz merely rolled her eyes. "I already told you I wasn't playing the game anymore so just drop it. It's not happening. Besides, I found those so-called 'hidden levels' months ago. I can beat it in my sleep by this point."

Zim's face fell in shock and he growled, clenching his jaw in anger. "Yeah, well…fine then! What if I threw in a…a… an entire buffet of filthy junk sustenance as well!? All the pizza, sodey fizz and 'pop-ed corn' you can eat while we play the game? Would that finally satisfy you, you demanding wench?"

Gaz stood up with her tray and untouched gruel in hand, still unmoved by Zim's offers. "Look, I get you're still upset about losing the game last night, but I'm over Super Space Conquerors now. The sequel comes out tomorrow and I plan on playing it non-stop. If you still wanna play the original, try challenging some newbie down at the arcade who still cares."

She began walking toward the trash when Zim angrily stood up and ran in front of her. "I don't WANT to play against some inferior stink monkey! I want to play against YOU!"

Zim then slamming his fist down on her tray, causing it crash to the ground and splatter gruel everywhere. A hush fell across the playground as the kids, who usually paid them no attention, now all had their focus on Zim, who continued to stare down Gaz.

Looking down at her clothes, which now had chunks of gruel stuck to it, Gaz was horrified to see some of it had gotten on her Game Slave. Her eye twitching erratically, she glared angrily up at Zim and started gnashing her teeth while growling menacingly.

"Now accept my challenge you foolish girl." Zim continued oblivious to her anger. "Or I'll shall be forced to make you-HEY!"

With one swift motion, Gaz grabbed Zim by the shirt and slammed him against a trash can. Immediately the kids got up from their lunches and started gathering around the two of them, yelling 'Fight! Fight!' all while knocking over Dib, who continued to stumble around clawing at the goo on his glasses.

Zim, who had been taken off guard by Gaz's quick action, was now struggling under the vice-like grip on his shirt. Her hateful glare combined with those of the surrounding Skool children began to make Zim nervous.

"Let me make this perfectly clear to you, dork for brains" Gaz said, maintain her strong grip. "I am NOT going to play a rematch against you. Not now. Not ever. And if you continue to be an annoying pest, I'll pull out your eyes and stick them up your butt! GOT IT?"

"Let go of me you foul she-beast!" Zim demanded, continuing to struggle against her until she tightened her grip and lifted him slightly off the ground, is legs dangling uselessly beneath him.

"I said, GOT IT?" Gaz asked again, holding him within an inch of her face and shaking him hard.

Zim flinched and glared angrily back at her. "I'm not scared of you! Now release me this instant or I swear I'll….I'll…"

As he looked into her intense amber eyes, a different feeling began to stir within in Zim. His anger started to fade and his vision became slightly clouded, like he was seeing Gaz through a thin fog. Zim could feel himself sweat a bit as a sudden heat developed within the inch of space separating his face from hers.

Suddenly there was a deep tightening sensation within his squeedily spooch. It was something he never felt before, like he was going to be grossly sick. It was strange. It was uncomfortable. It was…exhilarating.

"You'll what?" Gaz demanded as the kids around them were now shouting at Gaz to beat Zim into a pile of mush.

Realizing he had been staring mindlessly at her for some time, Zim shook his head and opened his mouth to retort when the bell rang. All the kids let out disappointed groans and began making their way back into the Skool building. Gaz finally released her grip, causing Zim to stumble to the ground, his legs now feeling like boneless jelly.

"You got lucky, loser. Stay away from me or I'll make you regret it." Gaz said before grabbing her things and making her back with the others.

Zim watched her go and rubbed his head in confusion. "What was that… bizarre sensation? Did the Earth girl hypnotize me? Or did she-" Zim gasped "Oh no! She must've contaminated my body when she grabbed me with her filthy goo-encrusted hands! I need to test myself immediately!"

Zim then raced back into the Skool and headed straight towards his locker. Just as the last kid left for class, Dib finally pried his gooey glasses off his face. "Ugh! Yuck! Finally! Now where's Zim?!"

As Dib turned to look for Zim, he slipped on Gaz's fallen lunch tray and fell backward onto the mushy gruel, which got entangled in his hair and clothes, causing him to stick to the ground. He tried lifting himself up, but the gruel had solidified and was holding him down like glue. "Um, hello? A little help?….Hello?"

* * *

After grabbing another gadget from his locker, Zim headed into the bathroom stall and painfully stuck himself with a syringe, drawing out blood which he then ran through his bio scanner. After a few minutes, the machine let out a high ding noise followed by his computer's voice.

"Analysis Complete! Sample shows high levels of dopamine and serotonin are present, as well an increase in adrenaline."

"I knew it!" Zim exclaimed. "That she-beast has infected me with some form of…of…whatever those chemicals are supposed to be!"

"Actually, those are common biological components found in individuals who fall in-"

"There's no denying it now." Zim interrupted the computer, turning off the bio-scanner and stowed it away. "It's become more imperative then ever that I defeat the scary Earth girl before completing my mission. If she's found a way to corrupt my bio functions, she could use it to her advantage! She could even use it to …Ah ha! of course! Why didn't I realize it sooner? She must've used the same influence when she defeated me in Super Space Conquerors! How else could her puny invaders have won so easily?"

Although he hadn't really experienced the same sensation, Zim remembered feeling strangely giddy when playing against Gaz for the first time. There had been a slight stirring in his squeedily spooch then although he had ignored it thinking he was just tense from the game play. The same feeling had arose when he had been watching Gaz sit in class and at lunch, though it hadn't been as strong as it was now.

"Now that I know what to expect, I can find a way to shield myself and stop her biological influences at the source." Zim contemplated. "Only then will I have a fair chance of defeating her! But how to do it? How? HOW?"

"Hey keep it down in there! Some of us are trying to go poopy!" Said a boy in the next stall who let out a loud fart.

Zim rolled his eyes and continued talking to himself. "First things first, I'll need to lure her back to my lair so I can engage her in battle and analyze her properly in a controlled environment. But I'll need to get her to play against me willingly first. She refused my offer for a rematch and won't take kindly to me kidnapping her again…I need something to bait her. Something that guarantees that she'll play the game…"

Just then a light bulb went off in Zim's head as all his encounters with Gaz came flooding back to him.

The look on her face when he took her Game Slave.  
The extreme rage she displayed when he soiled her console.  
Super Space Conquerors 2

A small creepy smile crawled across Zim's face as he now had the perfect plan to draw Gaz in.

Suddenly there was a loud banging noise as the patrol robot burst through the door and made its way over to Zim's stall. It then knocked on his door.

"You are late. Present late pass."

Panicking, Zim pressed a button on his watch which activated his rocket pack and he blasted his way up, smacking his head on the ceiling before flying his way out the open window. The robot banged on the door again, causing the stalls to collapse from the force, leaving only the boy from the next stall sitting on the toilet with his pants down looking shocked.

The robot turned toward the horrified boy. "Second chance. Present late pass."

The boy let out a scream of terror as he was seized by the robots rope and dragged helplessly out of the bathroom with his pants still around his ankles.


	4. Bargaining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaz goes to get her new video game, only to find that they've all mysteriously disappeared...

Chapter 4: Bargaining

It was a bright sunny Saturday morning when Gaz had awoken. Wasting no time, she quickly got dressed and freshened up in the bathroom, moving much faster than she ever did in waking up for Skool. She then raced to the kitchen where Dib and their father Prof. Membrane were eating breakfast. They watched in bewilderment as Gaz quickly devoured her toast and scrambled eggs and began chugging her orange juice.

"Well, that sure is one way to pack in your proteins." Prof. Membrane commented as Gaz inhaled her more of her scrambled eggs. "Why the rush this morning sweety?"

Gaz swallowed. "Super Space Conquerors 2 comes out today and I want to be there when the store opens."

"But it's 9:30 in the morning." Dib said pointing at the clock. "I thought the game doesn't go on sale until tonight?"

"Exactly. I want to make sure I'm the first person in line. There's no way I'm waiting until they run out of copies...again…" Gaz said, narrowing her eyes as she thought back to the day when she got her Game Slave 2.

"I see." Dr. Membrane said, stroking his chin through his collar. "In that case, make sure to take your brother with you."

"What!? Why!?" Both Gaz and Dib exclaimed.

"The mall is a dangerous place for a little girl to spend more than twelve hours in alone. You could be driven mad with boredom, be harassed by perfume salesmen, or tempted to buy lots and lots of really expensive shoes!" Prof. Membrane said dramatically. "Also, because I said so."

"I can take care of myself dad!" Gaz objected. "He'll just slow me down!"

"Yeah! And I have plans today to examine some new alien tech I just found!" Dib added. "Speaking of which, you wanna see it when I'm done dad? I think you'll find it very interesting!"

"Oh my poor insane son…" Prof. Membrane shook his head slightly and continued. "No excuses, no arguments, and no wild conspiracy theories! Dib, you're watching your sister and Gaz, you will stick with your brother. That's final."

Dib and Gaz groaned in frustration and eyed each other with contempt.

"Now the two of you better get a move on. You'll want to beat the senior citizen's early bird rush. Those people are ruthless!"

Sighing in annoyance, Gaz chugged down the last of her OJ, pocketed her Game Slave and grabbed Dib by the collar as she began making her way out the door.

"Hey I'm not even dressed yet!" Dib exclaimed motioning to his alien spotted PJ's.

"You can change on the way!" Gaz snapped, grabbing his coat off the rack and throwing it over his head as she dragged him out the door, slamming it behind them.

* * *

It wasn't long before Gaz and Dib made their way down to the Video Pit at the mall. Once there, Gaz immediately noticed that there was no long line of kids going down the escalator like there usually was during a game release.

"Good, we're the first ones here." Gaz said feeling relieved. "I'll have my copy for sure."

Dib, who had just finished putting on a pair of slacks, followed Gaz up the escalator. "Was there really no time for me to grab a new shirt? We're gonna be here all day you know."

Gaz's eye twitched and she turned toward Dib "No, there wasn't. Now listen Dib, since you're gonna be stuck with me in line all day we may as well set some ground rules. Number one. Don't talk to me about paranormal stuff. Number two. Don't talk to me, period. Number three-"

"Um, Gaz. Think you better turn around." Dib said gesturing upwards toward the store.

As the escalator reached the 2nd floor, Gaz turned around and was shocked to see a bunch of kids already inside the store yelling loudly and fighting among themselves.

"They started selling them already!? NOOOO!" Gaz yelled clenching her fist in rage as she turned to Dib. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't stopped to get your shoes we could've been here on time!"

"Now hold on a sec! Don't you think this whole thing's a little off?" Dib asked. "Doesn't the Game Pit have several strict line waiting policies? Since when do they let kids get away with storming the counter all at once? "

Considering his words, Gaz ran into the store among the angry screaming crowd who are trying to accost the spazzy blonde haired cashier at the counter.

"People please!" The guy yelled, wincing at the sound of the loud voices around him. "We are very sorry but right now, we are all out of copies of Super Space Conquerors 2!"

Gaz's mouth dropped and her eyes widened in horror. "WHAT!!??"

"WE WANT SPACE CONQUERORS! WE WANT SPACE CONQUERORS!" Chanted the crowd of screaming kids, banging their fists on the counter.

"There's nothing I can do!" The cashier exclaimed, twitching erratically. "You're all just going to have to wait till we get more in next month!"

"Next month?" Gaz repeated in outrage.

The equally outraged crowd let out a loud roar and again began ambushing the counter, with some leaping over it and demanding answers. The blonde cashier started spazzing out and backed up against the wall as the crowd attempted to closing in around him.

For a moment Gaz stood frozen to the spot, paralyzed with shock, her eye twitching.

"Well, nothing we can do about it now right? Better luck next month?" Dib asked optimistically. "I mean, we can go home now right?"

He attempted to walk away but Gaz grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "Something's not right here. I'm getting to the bottom of this."

Escaping the crowd, Gaz quickly ran back out the store and whistled loudly. The kids immediately stopped yelling and turned toward Gaz.

"Hey guys! They got copies of Space Conquerors 2 down at the Chepomart! At half price!"

The kids paused, then cheered and immediately stormed out of the store, making their way down the escalator toward the mall exit. Dib had to leap aside to avoid being trampled by the stampeding crowd.

Once they were gone, Gaz walked up to the blonde cashier who was still shaking from the ordeal.

"Whoa, thanks little girl. What luck for us that Chepomart finally got themselves some copies!" He said, still twitching erratically.

"They don't have any copies, I made that up." Gaz stated. "Now tell me what went on here and why there aren't any games."

"Oh it was horrible!" The blond cashier exclaimed, flinching at what appeared to be a headache. "Someone broke in here last night and stole every single copy of Super Space Conquerors 2! And not just us, every video game store in town! I even called the Game Pit over in the city and they were robbed as well!"

Shocked, Gaz stood contemplating the situation as Dib walked over curiously. "So wait, every store in the area was robbed of that one game in the same night? How's that even possible? Weren't there any security detail or cameras to catch the thieves?"

"Nah, our cameras are just for show. Budget cuts and all." The cashier explained pointing at the half constructed cardboard security camera hanging loosely from the ceiling. "The stores with real cameras said they all turned off mysteriously during the robberies. Even the security guard's flash lights weren't working. It's all too much man, ugh, makes my head hurt!" The Cashier said, flinching in pain again.

"So the burglars left no evidence behind? Nothing?" Dib asked.

"Nope, nothing. Nothing at all…well, except for this." The cashier then held up a folder piece of paper with a green alien sticker on it, and the written words 'For creepy purple haired girl'.

Seeing the sticker and writing, Gaz's eye widened with realization and she quickly grabbed the note out of the cashier's hands.

"Hey you can't read that!" The cashier protested. "It's for a creepy purple haired girl!"

Gaz opened the note and quickly began reading the passage:

_'Dear Inferior Purple Spawn,_

_I have acquired that which you seek and will only relinquish it if you give into my demands. Meet me at my location and bring 'the device'. You have until noon._

_Yours truly,_

_The Superior Green Race'_

As she finished reading, Gaz clenched the note and ground her teeth in anger. "Zim…"

Throwing the note down, Gaz wasted no time in leaving the store and rushed down the escalator.

"Gaz?" Dib called out. He then looked down at the note by his foot and picked it up. Reading the passage, he gasped loudly.

"Oh no! Zim must've taken the games so he could lure Gaz to his lair and bargain with her for the device! This whole thing is a trap! Well not if I have anything to say about it!" Pocketing the note, Dib quickly followed after Gaz, leaving the cashier to claw at his forehead in confusion.

* * *

Gaz did not slow down once on her way to Zim's place. She raced past cars, traffic lights, joggers, dog walkers, bikers and even pushed over several baby carriages to reach her destination.

"Hey, slow down there young lady!" Called out an old man as Gaz approached him. "You're gonna hurt someone-AHHH!"

Gaz then immediately shoved the old man into a bush and stole his metal cane. Finally she came to a halt outside the wooden fence surrounding Zim's house where all the new security gnomes turned toward her with their lasers drawn.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Enemy spotted-"

The nearest gnome was then knocked over and its head smashed in by Gaz's foot. Using the cane, she leaped into the air and began breaking every garden gnome she came across, dodging their lasers and stomping them into the ground till they were nothing but rubble. Once they were all destroyed, she then went up to the door and pounded loudly on it.

"ZIM! OPEN UP NOW!" Gaz yelled loudly.

After a few moments of silence, the door was opened by GIR, who at first looked confused as he always did but then broke into a huge smile upon seeing Gaz.

"YAY! You came back! Just like master said you would!" GIR exclaimed cheerfully as he tried to hug her.

"Where is Zim?" Gaz spoke in a deadly whisper as she held the robot at arm's length.

"He's setting up the party in his room so you two can play together!" GIR said, still attempting to hug Gaz. "I can take you to him if you say pretty please."

"I can find him myself!" Gaz yelled as pushed the robot aside and headed toward the secret lift under the chair.

Undeterred, GIR grinned stupidly and followed Gaz into the lift which slowly took them down into Zim's lair.

"I'm gonna make elevator music! Doo doo! do do dee do do! doo doo! do do dee do dooooo…"

While she normally would've throttled the robot till his gears popped off, Gaz instead focused angrily on the door, readying herself for the moment when she would beat the living pulp out of Zim.

* * *

Meanwhile in his lair, Zim had just taken off his rubber gloves, having finished setting up the snack bar which contained every sort of junk food that research told him human children like to eat.

"There we go. Hopefully this assortment of human filth will be enough to appease the Dibsister. Now to finish activating my protective gear."

Zim then put back on his black gloves and slipped into a small dark blue contamination suit he had just finished altering. He then zipped it up and activated his invisible air helmet, to protect himself from any manipulation by Gaz bio or otherwise, and turned on a nearby camera, which he set up to secretly record and scan them while they played.

"Computer! Begin recording sequences for the scanner. Keep track of all suit vitals and time stamp any sudden changes."

"Acknowledged." The computer responded. "Shall I run a pre-scan of your suit to guarantee functionality?"

"I don't think it necessary. After all I did designed this suit myself, so its quality is already guaranteed." Zim said chuckling smugly.

"All the same sir, the suit still hasn't been tested and a pre-scan is highly recommended."

"Oh very well, I suppose…"

As Zim walked toward his computer to activate the scanning sequence, he stopped upon seeing himself in a nearby reflection. Though normally not self-conscious about his appearance, which he considered to be naturally perfect, Zim began straightening his antenna and checking his teeth for food. He wasn't sure why he suddenly cared, but he rationed that if he was going to challenge Gaz again, he may as well look good while doing it.

"Warning: Intruder Alert. Front lawn and door security has been breached and rendered incapacitated. Subject is now entering the lab through lift number four."

Zim gasped as he heard the sound of the lift and knew it must be Gaz, trying to get back her precious game. She was a little early but he was more than ready for her.

"At last! No time for a pre-scan now Computer. Begin set up for Operation Video Games of Doom!" Zim commanded.

"Acknowledged." The Computer responded, dimming the lights and activating the nearby gaming screen.

Zim rubbed his hands together eagerly. "At last! Time to get what I deserve."

He then jumped into his chair, quickly smoothed down his clothes and folded his hands menacingly as he turned away from the lift door.

There was a ding as the door slowly opened.

"-doo deeeeeee dee dooo….Master! Master! Gazy's back! Isn't that great?" GIR exclaimed, running out of the lift.

Gaz stormed out of the lift and looked around. "Zim! Show yourself!"

Zim then swiveled his chair around, clasping his gloved hands as a slimy smile spread across his face. Gaz grimaced and began walking towards him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't little Gaz. I see you received my message. So good of you to finally show up-"

Suddenly Gaz's fist collided with Zim's face, causing him to stumble out of his chair. With the metal cane clenched in her hand, Gaz stood over the dazed alien and began beating Zim with the cane.

"AHH! OW! Ouch! Stop that!" Zim screamed out as he tried shielding himself from Gaz. "GIR! Defensive maneuver!"

GIR stood upright and saluted before jumping over next to Gaz. He then raised his arms high, reached into his head and took out a giant inflatable hammer which he used to help pummel Zim, all while laughing maniacally.

"Curse you worthless robot!" Zim yelled as he tried shielding himself from both Gaz and GIR. "Computer! Seize the intruder!"

A robotic arm shot out of the ceiling and grabbed Gaz from behind, causing her to drop her cane in surprise.

Zim then tenderly got to his feet, now sporting a black eye and massaging his head which was covered in bruises. GIR continued to playfully hit Zim with his inflatable hammer until the alien grabbed it and squeezed it until it popped, much to GIR's disappointment.

"Let go of me you creep!" Gaz yelled, struggling against the robot arm. "I need to beat the tar out of you some more!"

"I suggest you curb your violent tendencies for now Earth scum." Zim said glaring at her, rubbing his bruised face. "Unless you want something to happen to your precious game."

He then pulled out a cartridge that read 'Super Space Conquerors 2' on the side. Gaz looked at it with longing until Zim put it back in his pocket.

"Now let's get down to business. You have something I want, and I intend to get it."

"I don't have your stupid device, my brother does!" Gaz spat. "Why don't you go steal something of his instead?"

Zim scoffed. "Please, that old thing? I was able to construct a better one last night. How else do you think I was able to steal all of these?"

Zim then activated the light switch from his chair. Gaz's eyes squinted then widened as she looked around the lab which was covered from wall to wall in Super Space Conquerors 2 cartridges. Every crevice, drawer and containment unit was bursting with the video games. There was even a snack bar constructed of the cartridges with a few being used as coasters. In the corner, GIR was busy building an Eiffel tower out of the cartridges, a task that proved arduous as he kept knocking every old piece over with a new one.

"Impressed much?" Zim asked, smirking as he walked towards Gaz. "I knew I had to get you down here somehow. And since you refused my numerous offers to replay the old game, I thought an offer to play the new one would be a little more…enticing."

"You're insane!" Gaz snapped at him. "And stupid to boot. All these resources that you can use to take over the world and you waste it on challenging me to a video game? How pathetic."

"She's got ya there Master!" GIR chimed in as his tower fell over again.

Zim frowned. "SILENCE! You will give me the rematch I deserve and the chance to prove who is truly the superior invader! Accept, or every single game cartridge here will go straight into the furnace!"

He then pointed at the grate in the wall which kept opening and closing while spitting out fire.

"I had that installed recently. You'd be surprised how many things I end up having to burn."

Gaz said nothing and continued to stare him down scornfully.

"Now then, my angry little spitfire" Zim continued. "What will your answer be?"

For a moment, it looked as if Gaz was about to blow a gasket, but then suddenly she became strangely calm. "Go ahead then."

"I knew you'd…huh?" Zim asked in confusion.

"I said go ahead." Gaz said, suddenly unfazed by the threat. "The stores will have new games in stock by next month and you can't keep stealing them forever without getting caught."

Zim's face fell in shock. "Yeah well! Ah…uh…I…wasn't expecting that. Thought you'd be a little more upset quite frankly…"

"I can wait another month or so if it's to spite you. Face it Zim, you have nothing to bargain with." Gaz said, still trying to squirm out of the robots grip. "Now release me! I told you I'm not playing against you again and that's final!"

Just then there was a loud flush and suddenly Dib came out of the chute, drenched in toilet water.

"YAAYS! More party guests!" GIR cheered excitedly as he knocked over a wall of games.

"Don't worry Gaz! I'm here to save you!" Dib declared as he held up Zim's old energy disruptor.

"Oh no…" Gaz groaned, annoyed by her brothers sudden presence.

Dib then glared at Zim, who at first looked annoyed but then oddly pleased.

"I won't let you manipulate my sister into betraying me, so I brought the device here myself. Release her Zim or I'll unleash its power on your whole lab."

"As you wish." Zim said, smirking evilly. "Computer, release the girl and grab the Dib!"

The robot arm released Gaz and wrapped itself around Dib, who dropped the device which Zim casually picked up.

"Oh well, I needed kindling to get the fire going anyway." He then tossed the device in to the open furnaces mouth, which ignited making the room slightly warmer.

"What?" Dib exclaimed struggling against the robot arm. "Why would you destroy it? That's the whole reason you lured me here."

Zim let out an amused laugh. "Oh Dib, always thinking about yourself. For once, my diabolical plan has nothing to do with you."

"It doesn't?" Dib asked in confusion.

"No. For you see, it was HER I intended to lure here." Zim said pointing at Gaz. "To get the rematch that she has repeatedly denied me. However I admit my plan wouldn't have been as successful had you not shown your big head around here. Now I have the perfect motivation to get her to play."

Pressing a button on his chair, the robot arm lifted Dib over the furnace vent which kept opening and closing while shooting out flames.

"What are you-no, no no, ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Dib kicked his feet around as the flames dances by his shoes.

Zim turned toward Gaz "Accept my challenge or all the cartridges AND your brother go straight into the furnace!"

Gaz stood silently, a neutral look on her face. She glared at Zim, the cartridges and Dib who continued to scream while the flames licked at the bottom of his coat. She then smirked and began snickering a little.

"What? What's so funny?" Zim asked, confused at her amusement.

"That's your best bargaining chip? Threatening to burn my brother to a crisp? I do that on a daily basis." Gaz asked, trying to stifle her laughter. "Man, you are really bad at this Zim."

Zim gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Enough with your detached snarkyness! Those are my terms! Take it or leave it!"

"Gaz help me!" Dib pleaded. "I can't go out like this! And dad will be really mad when he finds out you let me be burned alive."

Saying nothing, Gaz stood silently as she stroked her chin and gazed in the distance deep in thought.

"Gaz? GAZ!" Dib shouted.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP I'M TRYING TO THINK!" Gaz shouted at him as she continued to ponder the offer.

Sweat started to drip down Dibs face as the flames grew hotter and hotter. Zim stood with his arms crossed, tapping his foot impatiently while waiting for Gaz to make a decision.

Not being able to wait much longer, Dib shouted out "Save me and I'll buy you pizza for a whole year!"

Gaz then finally snapped out of thought and smiled a little. "Very well Zim. I accept your offer for a rematch in exchange for the release of my brother and the game cartridges."

Dib exhaled in relief. "Oh thank goodness…"

Zim grinned in satisfaction. "I knew you'd see it my way."

As he went to press a button on his chair, Gaz grabbed his wrist and turned him towards her.

"On one condition."

"What?" Zim and Dib said, as Dib continued to hang precariously over the furnace.

"My one and only condition." Gaz repeated sternly. "And you better meet it!"

Zim looked from her intense gaze to her hand gripping his wrist and felt his squeedily spooch tighten uncomfortably again. Clearly the suit hadn't started working yet, but Zim shook away the feeling and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You're hardly in a position to make demands…but since I happen to be in a good mood, I will humor you. What is it you require?"

"If I win," Gaz stated, maintaining her grip. "You will never, ever, EVER bother me about playing video games with you ever again. Got it? NEVER!"

Zim shrugged. "Fine, fine. If you win, I will never, ever bother you again."

Gaz arched an eyebrow at his casualness and continued to eye him suspiciously. Zim rolled his eyes and sighed, lifting up his other hand as he continued, "I, Zim, do so swear on the honor of my superior Irken race, promise that I will never, never EVER never ever, ever ever NEVER-"

"Will you get on with it!?" Dib yelled out, the bottom of his coat now smoldering.

Zim paused to gasp for air. "Never, never, ever, ever, ask you to play video games with me ever again. There, satisfied now?"

Gaz released her grip on Zim. "Good."

Zim quickly pulled away and rubbed his slightly bruised wrist with a disinfected sponge he kept nearby. Once he was cleansed, he went back to face Gaz. "Since we're now making demands..."

"Oh come on!" Dib exclaimed.

"I have a few of my own I'd like to make. For instance, if I win-"

"I don't break your arms and legs." Gaz interrupted, folding her arms and glaring at him.

Zim paused for a moment then nodded. "Okay that's one demand. The other is that we shall use the device I gave you to install cheat codes so that we may proceed quickly to the final round. Once we reach it however, we shall fight mano e alienato. No special moves, no added enhancements, no cheating! "

Gaz quirked an eyebrow but nodded. "Fine. But I still don't know what device you're talking about."

Zim groaned. "You know, the one I gave you at lunch. The flash drive?"

Suddenly remembering, Gaz took out the device from her pocket which Zim grabbed and installed into the machine. Instantly the screen lighted up and the Super Space Conquerors logo appeared.

"This is it, Gaz human" Zim said standing in front of her. "One game. No cheats or advantages of any kind in the final round. When I win, you declare me the superior invader and don't cause me any harm. If by some strange chance you don't lose, I release your brother and the cartridges and leave you alone forever. Agreed?"

Gaz paused for a moment, doubting the alien's promises, but knew she had no choice. "Agreed."

She then held out her hand to shake. Not wanting to touch her again, Zim grabbed a nearby glove and put it over his other glove before firmly shaking her hand. The gesture seemed to have worked as Zim did not feel the strange tightening sensation again, although he still felt oddly compelled to hold her hand longer then necessary.

With both parties satisfied, Zim pressed a button on his chair which pulled Dib away from the furnace and pinned him firmly against the wall with his arms at his side. Two chairs then popped up beneath Zim and Gaz and pushed them towards the large TV screen with the ready to use controllers.

"So wait, this whole complicated scheme was just so you could get Gaz to play a video game with you to decide who the superior invader is?" Dib asked from across the room. "That's so stupid!"

"NO TALKING DURING GAMEPLAY!" Zim commanded, pointing threateningly at his nemesis.

"You haven't even started playing yet! And am I really supposed to stay here pinned to the wall the whole time while you two-OW!" Dib flinched as a cane struck his forehead.

"He said no talking!" Gaz said, having stood up and flung her cane at him. "We have several hours of game ahead of us Dib, and unless you want to go back to dangling over the furnace, you better shut your stink hole!"

Dib looked nervously between his sister and the furnace and promptly stopped talking. Zim couldn't help but admire Gaz's ability to shut her brother up with her mere threats of violence. Had he not been trying to destroy her, he would've asked for pointers on how to do it during Skool.

Once Gaz resumed her seat, Zim grabbed his controller and typed in his characters race, while Gaz did the same. Once done, the screen showed the tall green alien race a.k.a "The Green Scourge" versus the short purple alien race a.k.a "The Zim Punchers".

"I hope you're ready for complete and utter destruction, Gaz." Zim said pressing another button on his controller which brought up the first level. "Let the new battle for superiority and Earth dominance, BEGIN!"


	5. Round Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim and Gaz bond over video games while GIR makes pizza puffs.

Chapter 5: Round Two

Hours had passed since Zim and Gaz started playing Super Space Conquerors 2. Thanks to all the upgrades and cheat codes provided by Zim's flash drive, they were quickly able to zap their way through enemies and make their way toward the Earth capital without showing any signs of slowing down, despite the levels becoming more challenging as well as bizarre.

"Yes, that's it! Bow! Bow down before the might of Zim! Ruler of the Super Piggies!" Zim shouted as his character blew up a pig pen and now had a legion of floating radioactive pigs following him. Zim chuckled evilly and glanced at Gaz, who kept her attention on her character, which was now being followed by a legion of rainbow colored chickens.

"Just you wait till our final battle Gaz." Zim taunted. "Your pathetic chicken coop may as well jump into the deep fryer now, because they're going to get SERVED later!"

Zim let out an evil laugh and waited for Gaz's comeback. She however, said nothing and instead tapped in a code to summon a bazooka, which she used to fire her explosive chickens at some enemies.

Zim frowned and spoke again in a taunting manner. "I'm sure you have something to say that, don't you? Eh, puuuuny little human?"

Gaz scowled and turned away from Zim as she continued to blatantly ignore him. Between having her game stolen, saving her worthless brother and being forced to play games with a loser alien, Gaz was feeling more annoyed then she ever had in her life, leading her to give Zim the silent treatment, if only because she knew how much it would agitate him. Zim, naturally being oblivious, tried goading her into conversation either through taunting or small talk, neither of which got a response out of her and left him feeling increasingly frustrated.

"Ugh, this is less thrilling that I originally hoped." Zim grumbled to himself. "What's the point of gloating about my superior skills if my opponent doesn't react to it?

Zim then glanced at his wrist cuff, which contained a reading of his suits vital signs and noticed that nothing had changed since the start of the game.

"She's not even trying to use her weird hypnotic influences on me. Either that or the suit's working better then I thought. But how can I safeguard against what she's doing if I don't see it in action?"

Looking at Gaz and then his controller, Zim got an idea and quickly tapped in a code, causing the screen to freeze and start changing.

"Hey!" Gaz exclaimed in outrage, finally turning her attention to Zim. "What's the big idea?"

" _Level 66: Create Your Own Path….OF DESTRUCTION!"_

Gaz's eyes widened in surprise as the level they were playing suddenly became a glitchy, topsy-turvy race track. Enemies floated disjointedly in the sky, roads became blocky and spiraled endlessly around the screen, and many other various obstacles including vampire flowers, missile shooting elephants and tutu wearing dinosaurs would appear out of nowhere. Zim and Gaz's alien characters then appeared inside two small army tanks and began barreling down the chaotic path toward the glitchy madness.

Gaz looked at Zim in confusion. "What did you just do?"

"Oh that? I just activated a glitch is all. It's an unfinished level the programmers forgot to delete." Zim said proudly as their tanks barreled down the glitchy unfinished road. "I discovered it among the cheat codes. If we reach the end of the path unscathed, the game will skip us ahead five levels, which would put us at the final round."

For a moment it looked like Gaz was impressed, but she quickly caught herself and resumed her usual scowl. "Yeah, that's cool I guess. At least it'll make my time playing with you end sooner."

"Aw, what's the matter Gaz? Feeling tired?" Zim mocked, smirking as his green alien drove its way through a barrage of giant walking bowling pins. "If you wanted to call it quits before your eventual humiliation, I wouldn't blame you."

"Oh please." Gaz scoffed, her purple alien hurling exploding chickens at flying ice cream cones. "This is nothing compared to the Super Space Conquerors two hundred hour marathon I played in last year. Out of fifty players, I was the only one NOT to end up in the emergency room for exhaustion."

"I see. Well…good for you then! I'm not tiring either!" Zim added as he quickly turned his attention back to the screen. A short moment of silence passed between them before he glanced sideways at her curiously and spoke again. "Seriously, two hundred hours? How you accomplish that?"

"Energy patches, trucker pills and a combination of Fizzy Poop and Power Burst." Gaz explained.

"That sounds…nauseating." Zim said feeling slightly disgusted.

"It gets results." Gaz then took a swig from her can of Fizzy Poop, which quickly emptied, and tossed it over her shoulder. "Speaking of which, I'm running out of game fuel. Got anymore?"

"Of course. Mini-Moose!" Zim called out.

Within seconds, the tiny moose floated in carrying a tray on its head. "Nyah!"

"Bring our guest more refreshments, quickly!" Zim commanded.

"Nyah!" Mini-Moose squeaked and quickly flew toward the buffet table, scooping a can of Power Burst out of the cooler and presenting it to Gaz who took it off the tray and chugged it quickly. Letting out a burp, Gaz then sat up and tapped the buttons really fast, resulting in her alien's tank blowing up a giant barricade made of buttered toast and setting everything on fire.

"YES! Take that stupid toast!" Gaz called out, as she suddenly became more lively with her game play and took another swig of her energy drink.

Zim stared at the screen and then back at Gaz for a bit, unsure whether to be impressed or disturbed. The way she destroyed enemies without so much as breaking a sweat was both admirable and scary, yet also strangely alluring. Once again Zim felt the strange sensation from before start to arise in his chest and quickly forced himself to look away. He glanced at his wrist screen, which contained a reading for his vitals and was pleased to see that they were fluctuating.

"Finally, some activity." Zim said to himself. "As long as I don't let her influence me too much, I should be able to get through this round unscathed-"

He then heard warning sounds and saw that his alien was rapidly losing health, having been pulled out of its tank and was now being beaten up by a big muscular marine with butterfly wings. Trying to regain control, Zim quickly began punching in a complicated cheat code but kept messing it up.

"ARGH! What is wrong with these controls!?" Zim cried out, tapping buttons in desperation.

Gaz glanced at Zim's screen and noticed him struggling with the controller. "Use the power injector combo. It's shorter and simpler then the code you're trying to use."

"Don't tell me how to fight!" Zim snapped at her, causing Gaz to roll her eyes in annoyance and concentrate back on her character.

Once she looked away however, Zim reluctantly began entering the code she suggested to save his character at the last minute. After a few quick taps, a magical syringe appeared which his alien used to inject himself with, giving it the additional health and strength he needed to defeat the marine and continue the race. Though pleased he managed to stop his character from being killed, he resented that Gaz was the one to come up with the solution.

"I'm bored! Do I really have to stay pinned here the entire time?" Dib asked from across the room. "Can't I just watch TV upstairs or something?"

"And give you a chance to escape? I think not." Zim said as he tapped away at his controller.

"What's the point of keeping me here? You got Gaz to play the game with you, so there's no need to keep me around anymore." Dib pointed out.

"Eh? Oh right that. I was planning on destroying you when this is all over." Zim said nonchalantly as his character beat up more winged soldiers. "I could capture you again, but it's just easier to keep you like this."

"What!?" Dib exclaimed. "But-but…you promised I wouldn't get hurt! Gaz?"

"Hey I only made him promise not to throw you in the furnace." Gaz said, continuing to play the game. "What he does with you after the game is done is between you two idiots."

"But-I, you…argh, fine!" Dib stuttered in frustration. "Can I at least wander around the base or read a book while I wait for you to destroy me?"

"No." Zim said, struggling to maintain his attention.

"Then can I get something from that snack table? I haven't eaten since breakfast."

Zim growled and gritted his teeth in irritation. "Does he ever stop talking?"

"Unfortunately no." Gaz said, not taking her eyes off the screen. "You should see him when he watches his dumb paranormal show. He has whole conversations with himself about it."

"Are they like the conversations he has with himself in the bathroom when he thinks no ones looking?" Zim asked. "Cause I notice he does that a lot. Quite sad and pathetic actually."

"You want to hear pathetic?" Gaz asked, turning her head slightly towards him. "When he was six, he tried duck taping a camera onto a cat so he could sneak it into Bloaty's, because he thought the animatronics came to life at night. Needless to say, the cat didn't cooperate."

Zim let out an amused chuckle. "Foolish Dib! That reminds me of the time he tried using a magical freezing 'talisman' on me and instead, it unleashed rabid angry bunnies that beat him into the ground!"

Gaz let out a small snort. "Really? Oh man I would've loved to have seen that."

"You think that's amusing, you should see when he tries to sneak into my base disguised as a giant squirrel." Zim replied, causing Gaz to chuckle a bit.

"I'm right over here you know!" Dib yelled out.

Pausing for a moment, Gaz glanced over at Zim and smirked. "Got any more amusing Dib stories?"

Zim glanced back at her and grinned. "Of course. Do you?"

"Plenty." Gaz responded, much to Zim's intrigue and Dib's anger.

* * *

Upstairs in the kitchen, GIR was busy making a batch of Cheesy-brand pizza puffs for himself in his Breezy-bake oven. One of the lifts then opened, revealing Mini-Moose, who was carrying a tray full of canned sodas on his head.

"Nyah!" The tiny moose squeaked, offering a beverage to GIR.

"Not now Moose! I'm making stuff!" GIR said excitedly, his eyes pressed against the oven's window, which grew increasingly hot due to the excessive heat. "Hee hee, it burns!"

There was a ding and GIR quickly opened the oven door, revealing a batch of round, piping hot pizza puffs.

"YAY! Theys done!" GIR yelled out, picking up the tray and tilting it back, dumping all the pizza puffs into his mouth. GIR chewed them all up, cheese and grease now dripping from his mouth, and swallowed. "Mmmm tasty…I'm gonna make some more!"

GIR then dropped the tray and headed to the fridge but was shocked to find it empty.

"Oh noes." GIR said, suddenly upset. "Puffs? Puffs!? Where are you puffs!?

Now desperate, GIR scoured the fridge, the cabinets, under the sink and even in the folds of the couch.

"I gotta have my puffs! I GOTTA HAVE MY PUFFS!" GIR cried out before proceeding to tear apart the couch cushions. "Where you hided them couch?"

After looking through every nook and cranny in both the kitchen and living room, and causing a decent amount of destruction along the way, GIR still came up empty handed and stood mournfully in the middle of the kitchen. "Ohhh...puffs..."

GIR walked sadly over to his oven and stared into the empty chamber, tears welling up in his eyes. "No more cheesey puffs...What do I do?"

"Nyah!"

GIR looked up at Mini-Moose who floated down to the floor, toward a discarded pizza puffs that had rolled under the table. He then picked it up in his mouth and set it down near the cloning machine in the corner, which was still covered in squid ink and letting out small electrical sparks. GIR stared at the machine for a moment before his face lit up with joy.

"Oooooooh! Good idea Moose!" GIR then laughed gleefully to himself and picked up the last remaining cheesey puff, dropping it into the machine before flipping the power switch. The machine let out a loud whirling noise and spun really fast, releasing huge surges of energy before spewing a bunch of pizza puffs into the air, which landed in gigantic piles all over the kitchen.

"YAYS! Now I has plenty for the party!" GIR said excitedly, as he started gathering the cheesey puffs onto metal trays.

"Nyah!" Mini-Moose squeaked expectedly.

"Okay, here ya go!" GIR said gratefully, tossing a pizza puff into Mini-Moose's mouth, who chewed it up gratefully.

The two sidekicks then continued to round up all the puffs, unaware that the cloning device was now sizzling dangerously, causing some of the puffs to grow tentacles and crawl their way across the floor.

* * *

"And then, he tried raising the dead cause he thought aliens would use their empty corpses to take over Earth! Dad found out and grounded him for a month!"

Both Gaz and Zim let out howls of laughter, all while Dib fumed in anger. The two were no longer looking at the computer screen and had now shifted their chairs so they were facing each other.

"Oh the things humans come up with!" Zim said, wiping tears out of his eyes. "As if any respectable intelligent life forms would use your smelly decaying dead as an army."

"I know right?" Gaz said, shifting in her seat. "At least that theory was more plausible then his book report on undercover hypnotic alien pants. He got three weeks in the loony bin for that one."

Both shared another laugh, causing Dib to finally lose it.

"Enough already!" Dib shouted. "Do you two have to point out every little embarrassing thing I've done?"

"Duh." Gaz nodded. "That's what makes it fun."

"But you two aren't even playing the game anymore!" Dib said motioning to the screen.

"Oh we are. Our characters are just on cruise control." Zim said gesturing to their characters, who were both driving fast while shooting up enemies with unlimited ammo from their giant lasers. Dib looked at the controllers, which both had wrenches screwed in top of the buttons.

"But, what's the point of you both playing then if you're just gonna cheat your way to the end?" Dib asked.

"So we have more time to make fun of you." Gaz said simply, causing Zim to snicker.

Dib growled with rage.

Suddenly the screen lit up and played victory music as both their characters succeeded in making it across the finish line to the final level.

" _Congratulations, you've made it to the Earth Capital! NOW BURN IT TO THE GROUND!"_

"This is gonna be a pretty intense battle. Game Pit Magazine said it should take the most skilled gamers at least five hours to beat." Gaz explained. "We should take a quick break before continuing."

"Very well then." Zim said, taking the wrenches off their controllers and hitting the pause button.

Zim and Gaz made their way over to the buffet table while Dib looked on in longing. Gaz started piling pizza and other salty snacks onto her plate while Zim bypassed the food altogether and instead went over to a small door in the corner.

"Where are you going?" Gaz asked.

"I'll be back in a moment. I just have to, er, eh…take care of a MIGHTY need!" Zim said before quickly shutting the door.

Gaz rolled her eyes and began digging into her plate of food. Dib watched Zim leave and exhaled in relief. "Alright Gaz he's gone. You can cut the charade and release me now."

"What charade?" Gaz asked.

"Come on Gaz, be serious!" Dib exclaimed, struggling against the metal arm. "He's distracted in the other room, so now's the perfect time to escape!"

Gaz thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Nah."

"What? Why?"

"I want to see how this game ends. I did make a deal with Zim to finish it after all. Besides, I want to hear the story about that time you disguised yourself as a cactus and snuck into the cowboy museum to search for robot snakes." Gaz said smirking in amusement.

"Will you listen to yourself? You're letting him distract you with games and food and all sorts of meaningless junk!" Dib yelled. "But if you press that button over there and let me out now, we can escape together and finally take him down once and for all!"

Gaz scoffed. "You know, you really need to lay off Zim. You spend so much time fighting with him, maybe if you both actually talked you'd see he's not such a bad guy."

"He's trying to conquer Earth!" Dib exclaimed. "That automatically makes him a bad guy! How can you defend him when he's so obviously-" Dib then paused as a sudden awful thought came to him. "Wait a minute…you don't actually…LIKE hanging out with Zim do you?"

Gaz paused upon hearing those words. She wasn't sure why, but she suddenly felt really warm and could feel a twinge in her cheeks. She quickly looked away from Dib and scratched at her cheeks. "Of course not. Like I said, we made a deal and I'm just seeing it through."

"Yeah but I've never seen you willingly hang out with anyone for this long before, and definitely not for fun. Unless you count beating someone to a pulp as fun." Dib said, thinking over his statement. "I mean the way you both laugh together, it's like you were best friends or something…"

Clenching a soda can in her hand, Gaz turned sharply and stormed up to Dib, looking angrily him in the eye.

"Let's get one thing straight Dib!" Gaz said poking him in the forehead. "I'm here for one reason only and that's to whoop Zim's sorry butt. And once I'm done, I'm gonna do the same with yours for getting me into this mess! Now shut your pie hole and let me enjoy my pizza in PEACE!!!"

The walls reverberated with her last biting word. Dib looked at his scary sister, sweat dripping down his forehead, and smiled nervously. "Of course Gaz. Whatever you say."

Shooting him one last death glare, Gaz turned her back and proceeded to pile more food on her plate, unaware that a deep blush had now spread across her face.

* * *

Meanwhile in the other room, Zim approached a small computer screen that had been hooked up to the scanner, which still remained focused on where they had been sitting. Pressing the stop button, Zim rewound the footage toward the beginning of their game session. He then pressed a couple buttons to sync up the video with the display of his vital signs over the last couple hours. Looking at the vitals, Zim noticed a couple of spikes in last recent hour and isolated video from that time.

"Now then, let's see how you're really doing this Gaz." Zim said, pushing the play button. Footage of Zim and Gaz casually talking popped up, much to Zim's surprise.

" _Oh, oh! And remember the time Dib thought the janitor was a Sasquatch and used a net to try and capture him?"_  Zim asked excitedly.  _"Only it turned out –"_

" _To be a mild case of werewolf syndrome?"_  Gaz finished.  _"And the janitor was so mad that he-"_

" _Used Dib's head as a plunger to clean the toilets!"_  They both said in unison before howling with laughter. Gaz was laughing so hard, she actually snorted a bit much to the Irken's amusement.

" _You guys stink, you know that!"_  Dib yelled from off camera.

Eventually Zim and Gaz calmed down, taking deep breaths as their laughter ceased. Zim let out a content sigh before looking curiously at Gaz.

Off screen, Zim noticed a small jolt in the vital signs and watched the footage closely.

Gaz was still snickering a bit when she noticed Zim staring at her.  _"What? What are you staring at?"_

" _Hmm? Oh, nothing! It's nothing!"_  Zim said rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly nervous _. "It's just, well…this may sound strange but, for some reason I didn't think you were capable of laughing. Or smiling. Or being cheerful in any sort of manner. Hearing you laugh is...different."_

Gaz then calmed herself down enough to speak.  _"Humiliating my brother always puts me in a good mood. A better mood is when someone else does the humiliating for me."_  Gaz then glanced and him and smirked.  _"Honestly, some of my favorite Dib torturing moments are ones you've carried out. That time you replaced his lungs with a cow toy and sent a rabid monkey to attack him were among the best."_

Zim watched in shock as his recorded self turned a strange shade of green and actually smiled bashfully back at her.

"I don't remember changing color. Or making that bizarre smile!" Zim said, suddenly feeling anxious.

_"You flatter me, my sadistically-prone opponent."_  Zim said somewhat humbly.  _"Perhaps once our battle is over, you may stick around and witness as I remove your brother's brain and switch it with various animals. I was thinking of starting with a chipmunk brain. They're roughly the same size so it shouldn't make much of a difference."_

_"Wait, what?"_ Dib yelled off screen.

_"I'd like that."_  Gaz nodded.  _"But only if I get to poke it with a stick a few times. And get a bag of nuts to taunt him with afterwards."_

_"But of course."_  Zim said, holding up a bag of salted nuts.

Zim then paused the video and noticed Gaz seemed to be looking at him more differently then usual. It was a look that conveyed neither hate or anger, nor even the desire to see him maimed. Instead, it was a look of fascination and intrigue, like he was suddenly the most interesting being in the world. Just staring at her on screen was enough to cause his squeedily spooch to tighten uncomfortable, resulting in a beeping noise from his computer.

"Alert. Vital signs have spiked again." The computer chimed in. "Do you wish to run another analysis?"

"Gah! What is wrong with me? This cruddy suit does nothing!" Zim then unzipped himself from the suit and threw it against the wall. "I don't know how she's doing it, but it's worse than ever! Why with just one look, she makes me feel like-wait."

Zim then paused then re-examined the footage, watching their interactions and examining every instance where she gave him that look until he noticed a pattern with that and the flux in his vitals.

"That's it! Her power lies in that hypnotic stare of hers! All I have to do is not look directly into her eyes and I won't feel the effects! Ha! Nice try Gaz! But you can't hypnotize the almighty Zim! There's no way I'm falling prey to those intense, piercing, hate-filled...radiantly colored eyes of...yours..."

As he looked up at the footage of Gaz laughing with him, he couldn't help but smile and yearned to see one of her amused smirks in his direction again. The computer began beeping as his vitals fluctuated rapidly again.

"Zim! What's taking so long? Did you fall in or something?" Gaz called, knocking from the other side of the wall.

Zim shook his head and looked toward the door as Gaz banged in it again. Gasping, Zim quickly shut off the computer and hastily wiped the sweat off his brows. He couldn't let her know what he was up to now that he was wise her tricks. Hopefully now he'd have a real shot at winning against her, assuming he could refrain from looking directly at her.

"My business is done!" Zim then quickly stepped back into the room, making sure to close the door and avert his gaze. "Sorry for taking so long. I had to uh…empty my gallbladder! And you know how long that takes."

Gaz looked at him suspiciously but dismissed his stupid comment. "Whatever. Just hurry up and eat so we can continue."

"Nah, I'm good. Let's just continue the game." Zim said, once again walking by the food.

"You sure you're not gonna eat anything?" Gaz asked, taking a bite of her pizza. "This battle could go on for a very long time and I don't need you fainting from lack of energy."

"Ha! Silly human. Irkens are designed to go long periods without food or drink, so fainting it never an occurrence." Zim declared proudly. "Besides, I'd rather willingly starve myself then eat that filthy slop you called food."

Gaz arched an eyebrow. "I'll admit, the human race has come up with a lot of disgusting concoctions, but how can you not like pizza? It's the best food there is."

"Because!" Zim yelled.

"Because?" Gaz asked.

"Because I…..I…" Zim then paused. "Okay, fine! I've never actually eaten it. I've seen GIR devour whole discs of that cheesy mess and the smell alone is enough to sicken me! Besides, all human food tastes the same. Such vile disgusting slop…"

"How about you actually TRY something before you dismiss as 'slop'" Gaz said holding out a slice.

"Keep that filth away from me!" Zim said backing away.

"I'll eat it!" Dib said.

"Come on, at least eat it to say that you tried it." Gaz said moving closer to him.

"I said no!" Zim said.

"I'll eat it!"

"Try it!" Gaz said, nearly shoving it in his face.

"No!"

"Try it!"

"NOOO!"

"I wanna eat it!" Dib repeated.

"SHUT UP DIB!" Gaz and Zim yelled at him. Dib opened his mouth but immediately closed it as Gaz and Zim's both shot him similar looks of anger.

Gaz looked back at Zim and shrugged. "Fine. Don't try the pizza then…..be a wuss."

As she moved to throw the slice away, Zim snatched it out of her hand.

"A wuss am I?" Zim asked holding up the slice. "Would a wuss do this?"

Looking at the slice wearily, Zim ate the pizza in one gulp, chewing it thoroughly. At first he cringed at the overabundance of cheese and grease, but as he continued chewing he started tasting the flavors of the sauce and spices and found himself enjoying it immensely.

"Well?" Gaz asked.

Not wanting to give her satisfaction, Zim swallowed the slice and wiped his mouth in a dignified fashion. "It was acceptable….for human food anyways…not that you'd catch me eating it again!"

"Told ya." Gaz said, as she finished piling more food onto her plate. "Now hurry up and finish. I wanna get this rematch done and over with. And grabs some Fizzy Poop, you're gonna need it."

"Do not tell me what to do!" Zim retorted, pausing briefly before grabbing a six pack of Fizzy Poop. When she wasn't looking, Zim shoved another slice into his mouth and grabbed three soda cans, leaving the remaining ones sitting on the table.

"Come on guys, can't I PLEASE get some food?" Dib asked. "I'm starving here!"

"Oh just toss him something so he'll shut up." Gaz said, settling back into her seat. "But nothing from my table. I don't want his nasty Dib germs getting all over my food."

"Ugh, fine." Zim pressed a button on his chair. "GIR! Get down here and share your filthy rations with the prisoner."

"Coming!"

GIR then appeared out the lift holding a snack tray and pranced over to Dib, who stared wearily at the tray of pizza puffs, which appeared larger than usual and had some black goo oozing from them. "Uh, are you sure that's safe to eat?"

"Good question...Open wide!"

"Uhh…" Dib glanced nervously at the odd looking cheese puffs but GIR forcefully opened his mouth and shoved in the bite sized bits. Dib chewed hesitantly at first, then with more vigor as he swallowed the cheese puffs and nodded in approval. "Mmmm these are good… what's in them?"

"Pizza stuff!" Gaz said, holding up another one for Dib to eat.

Dib paused, then shrugged and ate another one. "Works for me."

"Quick, let's resume the game before he starts talking again." Gaz said, taking a quick sip of soda.

"Agreed. Let the battle for superiority continue!" Zim declared, unpausing the game.

As Zim and Gaz continued their game, Dib finished eating all the cheesy puffs fed to him by GIR.

"Mmm, those were good." Dib said swallowing the last puff. "I sure could use some more if you got um."

"I can make more!" GIR said excitedly. "Be right back!"

"Hey, why don't you let me out of this robot arm?" Dib suggested. "That way I can help you, uh…cook faster!"

"Heehee, silly blimp head!" GIR giggled. "That's what Moose and Piggy is for! But I'll bring you some toys to play with. Be right back!"

As GIR walked away, he bumped into the buffet table, which wobbled causing Zim's discarded soda cans to fall over. One landed on an automatic vacuum cleaner, activating the power button. The vacuum zoomed forward and knocked into a broom sitting in the corner. The broom fell over and came to rest on a railing just inches from where Dib was being held. Seeing the broom and how it lined up in the direction of the release button, Dib grinned as he started forming his plan of escape.


	6. Pause

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dib attempts to escape, causing Zim to get hurt in the process. leaving Gaz to take care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, I may have taken some liberties with this chapter and added my own bits of lore to fit the narrative. Also Gaz and Zim's interactions may seem a bit Ooc in this part but I did my best to keep them mostly in character while indulging my inner fangirl.

Chapter 6: Pause

"Give up human! You cannot outrace the almighty Zim!"

"We'll see about that! Eat my dust!"

"Ha! I am unstoppable! You will never be able to stop…that which is unstoppable!"

"Your mom's unstoppable."

"Leave my robot mother out of this!"

Many hours had passed since Zim and Gaz succeeded in making it to the final round. Now it was a race to the finish as their characters attempted to cross the white house lawn, which was crawling with an abundance of enemies, including both human and alien, all armed with advanced weaponry and legions of strange outer worldly creatures. Even with all the cheat codes installed, their characters had died several times just trying to reach the halfway point. Zim and Gaz however were determined to win at all cost.

"Almost there…just a few more….dozen…hundred… thousand…enemies!!" Zim said, gripping his controller tightly despite the intense shaking of his hands. His face then lit up in excitement as his character finally made it over the barricade half way point.

"YES! Victory! Victory for-" His happiness was short lived however as a large winged army general dropped in front of him and blew his character to smithereens with a gigantic bazooka. His left eye twitching, Zim watched helplessly as his character's remains were devoured by a swarm of yellow spotted horned three-eyed frogs.

"Curse you General Mayhem and your legions of deadly super frogs! CURSE YOOOUU!" Zim shouted, shaking his fist at the screen in anger. "Honestly, the game is just cheating at this point!"

"Tell me about it! Game Pit Magazine wasn't kidding about this level." Gaz shouted in agreement before her character was burned to a crisp by three different aliens with flamethrowers. "OH COME ON! I pressed A twice! Ugh! I need more energy drink!"

"Mini-Moose! More energizing refreshments!" Zim shouted to his henchman.

"Nyah!" Mini-Moose then appeared with two cans of Power Burst on his antlers, which Zim and Gaz immediately grabbed and drained in one gulp before tossing the cans behind them into a growing pile of trash. Hiccuping as the caffeine once again surged through his body, Zim shook his head vigorously and pressed the start button to replay the level. Gaz let out a loud belch and began cracking her neck a little as she too pressed the start button with some gumption.

By that point, both players had drank an immense amount of Fizzy Poop and Power Burst to keep themselves going, which caused Zim in particular to shake erratically and occasionally spaz out while destroying enemies. Gaz meanwhile was gradually losing her cool demeanor and had started to twitch as badly as Zim. By the time her character had been killed off for the three hundredth time, she was shaking for a completely different reason.

"GAH! Time out!" Gaz exclaimed pausing the game.

Zim nearly dropped his controller in surprise as screen suddenly froze. "Hey, what's the big idea!?"

"Ugh, I can't hold it! I need to go now!" Gaz exclaimed as she stood up and danced frantically.

"Hey we made a deal remember? You're not leaving until we finish this!" Zim demanded.

Gaz then grabbed his shirt and growled in his face. Looking up at her nervously, Zim finally got the hint. "Ohhh, you have to 'go'...um...you sure you can't hold it a little while longer?"

"No I can't!" Gaz said, releasing his shirt. "Now where is your bathroom?"

Zim paused uncertainly. "Um…I don't really…have one?"

"What?" Gaz exclaimed. "But before, where did you- ? How do you-? Ugh, never mind! I'll just improvise!"

Gaz then raced out of the room, clutching her stomach. Zim let out a sign of relief as he finally set his controller down for the first time in hours. He then leaned back in his chair and massaged his head, which was still pounding with adrenaline from all the caffeine and stress from game play.

"Ugh, this game is going to be the death of me! Even with all the upgrades, this level is taking far too long! There has to be a way to speed this up." Picking his controller back up, Zim began punching in some codes, hoping one of them would either skip them ahead to the final round or at least power up his character enough to make it that far.

Meanwhile Dib had been trying desperately for the last couple hours to free himself from the robot arm that held him. Lining up his foot with the nearby broom handle, Dib rearing back as he prepared to kick a small tomato that lay on the ground.

"Okay, steady now...GO!"

He then kicked the tomato into the air but it flew too far right, bounced off a wall and splattered into a bowl of chips.

"DARN IT!" Dib cursed to himself, kicking the wall behind him in frustration. "That was my last tomato!"

Since GIR kept bringing down various 'toys' for Dib to play with, which included stuffed animals, tomatoes and jars of mayo, Dib had been using his newfound 'ammo' to try and knock over the nearby broom handle, hoping it would fall backwards onto the release switch and free him. Unfortunately, as he had never been the coordinated type, Dib kept on missing his target, resulting in his 'toys' flying across the room in different directions, occasionally knocking over and breaking stuff. Luckily Zim and Gaz were too absorbed in the game to pay him any attention or notice that half the room was now coated in smashed tomatoes, mayo and stuffed pigs.

Now with the last of his ammo gone, Dib slid out of one of his shoes in desperation and did his best to line up his shot with the broom handle.

"Alright…this time I have to do it! For mankind's sake, I have to get free!" Dib declared keeping one eye closed as he did his best to focus. Swinging his leg back, Dib was about to launch the shoe forward when GIR appeared in front of him, holding a new tray of pizza puffs.

"Who wants more puffs?" GIR asked excitedly, holding up the tray of puffs which were dripping with black ooze. Dib then panicked and kicked his shoe off with more force than intended, sending it into the air and flying across the room toward Zim.

"HA! I've done it! Zim has done it!" Zim exclaimed as his character grew a set of metal butterfly wings and began floating. "With these gravity defying metal super wings, I can avoid all land enemies and float my way into the president's chambers! Just wait till the Gaz human returns. She'll be so impressed with Zim, she'll-"

Just then Dib's shoe flew over his head and struck the giant computer screen right in the middle, cracking it and distorting the picture.

"What the-!? NO!" Zim gasped as the screen began to flicker to black. "The game! I must save it quickly!"

Zim then quickly brought up the menu and went to save options. He barely managed to save the game in time before the screen flickered to static and finally to black. He then heard a loud groaning noise and noticed the cracked screen was now leaning forward, as the force of the shoe had also knocked one of its wall hinges loose. As the screen slowly began breaking off the wall, Zim got up to run away but then stopped in his tracks. "The computer! It'll be crushed!"

He went back and managed to eject both the game and the flash drive from the panel just as the screen snapped off the wall and fell down, smashing in the panel before falling forward. Holding the cartridge close to his body, Zim held up his free hand and managed to barely stop the screen from squishing him. However it was so heavy, Zim couldn't hold it up and his arm began straining painfully from the immense weight.

"UGHH, nooo!...must...protect...game!"

As Zim struggled to push the screen up, allowing himself room to move, he heard a sickening snap as his hand bent backwards under the heavy screen.

"AHHH! MY HAND! GAHHH!!!" Zim cried out in pain causing him to lose his grip on the screen, which finally collapsed on top of him, pinning him to the floor.

GIR stared blankly at the spot where his master had been and frowned in disappointment. "Aww...master didn't get any puffs."

Dib blinked in surprised as he looked over at the wreckage, amazed at what just happened. "Huh. Not what I intended to do but, I'll roll with it…Take that Zim! That'll teach you to try and switch my brain with a chipmunks!"

Gaz then entered through the door, letting out a relieved sign as she used a towel to wipe her hands. "Ahh much better. Good to know that toilet upstairs actually works. Now to finish playing-WHAT THE-!?"

Gaz dropped the towel in horror as she looked upon the collapsed screen and the broken devastation of a mess where their gaming area had been. She raced over and looked at the smashed in panel and all the exposed broken electrical wires that surrounded the collapsed screen.

"How did this-? Who did-? DIIIB!" Gaz turned sharply toward her brother. "What did you do!?"

"It was an accident! I swear I didn't mean to- wait. How'd you know this was my fault?" Dib asked curiously.

"Where's the game? Did Zim save it? Please tell me he saved it!" Gaz asked before she started digging through the wreckage. She didn't get far as the sparks from the exposed wires prevented her from getting any closer. She growled in frustration. "Ugh! Zim! Where are you!?"

"Master's taking a nap!" GIR spoke up, appearing behind Gaz. "He's camping out under the TV."

They then heard a loud moan from under the collapsed screen and Gaz spotted two hands sticking out from underneath. She was amazed to see that one of them was holding onto the Super Space Conqueror 2 cartridge as well as the alien flash drive. Grabbing the devices, Gaz examined them and was relieved to see that they were both intact.

"Whew! The game's safe. I thought for a moment we had lost all that progress…hey Zim, you did manage to save our game right?"

"Get…this…off…me…" Zim groaned from under the screen, his hands now twitching. "And...yes..."

Satisfied, Gaz set the devices carefully on her chair and grabbed the edge of the screen. She tried lifting it but only managed to get it a couple inches off the ground. It was so heavy, she couldn't hold it and reach Zim at the same time.

"Urrrgh, think you can get up before I drop this thing on you?" Gaz ask, straining under the weight.

Zim could only groan in response, unable to move a single muscle.

GIR wandered over and watched her with interest. "Ooooh you not gonna lift it up that way. You need to lift it like it's a big ol beefy sub sammich!"

"Then why don't you stop standing there and show me?" Gaz asked, struggling to maintain her grip.

GIR thought for a bit. "Hmmmmmm…...OKAY!"

He then grabbed the screen from her and lifted it up with ease. Gaz quickly knelt down and grabbed Zim by his arms, pulling him out from under the debris.

Looking the crushed alien over, Gaz could see that he was in really bad shape. His eyes were twitching, his tongue hung out from his open mouth, his antennae was all bent out of shape and his limbs stuck out at weird angles. His body was also strangely pale, covered in scraps and he even looked a little flatter. Gaz waved a hand in front of his face, but got no response.

"Hey Zim, are you dead? You better not be dead." Gaz said, looking down at him. Zim said nothing, nor did he move.

"Come on, suck it up. We got a game to finish." Gaz then bent down and poked Zim in the chest. He let out a sudden scream, causing Gaz to fall backwards in surprise.

His screams also startled GIR who lost his grip on the screen which promptly collapsed on top of him. "YAY, I'm being crushed!"

"GAHH...the pain! The searing...agonizing...paaaaaaaaainn!" Zim cried out, his words garbled as his arms and legs twitched like crazy.

As Dib watched his nemesis writhe on the ground in agony from across the room, his face lit up in realization.

"This is it Gaz, the perfect opportunity!" Dib called out. "He's too injured to fight back! Release me now and we can turn him in to the authorities, finally exposing him as the alien menace he is!"

Gaz looked down at Zim, who laid there helplessly groaning as his broken body convulsed all over. She was surprised to see his eyes starting to tear up from all the pain he was in and couldn't help but feel an annoying twinge of pity. While she normally wouldn't have cared about Zim's condition, the fact that he apparently had put himself in danger just to save their gaming progress touched a nerve she didn't think she had. Going against her better judgment, Gaz stood behind Zim and bent down, sliding her hands under his arms before gently pulling him across the floor toward the door.

"Good idea, you drag him toward the lift first and then come back for me." Dib said, a joyful look on his face. "We'll carry him right into FBI headquarters together!"

As Gaz pressed the door switch with her elbow, she threw one last dirty look at Dib, whose smile faltered. "Wait, you are gonna free me right Gaz?"

Zim let out a groan of pain as he began to slip from Gaz's grasp. She quickly grabbed him before he fell and wrapped her arms around his chest, holding him closely to her so he wouldn't slip again. Mistaking her quick action for affection, Dib's smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of horror.

"I don't believe it! You're helping him aren't you?" Dib cried out, struggling against the robot arm. "Don't do it Gaz! Can't you see he's brainwashed you? You're betraying your own species! Just let me out and I can save you from his evil influence!"

"Hey robot, stuff something in my brother's mouth and meet me out in the hall." Gaz commanded as she finished dragging Zim through the door.

GIR crawled from under the screen, his body crushed flat but with a quick blow into his thumb, he reformed back to normal and raced toward Dib, picking up his discarded pizza puff tray.

"Come back Gaz! I can free you from his control! I can-"

"Enjoy your snack like a good boy!" GIR yelled and poured the whole tray of pizza puffs into Dib's open mouth, to the point where his cheeks bulged out and he couldn't close it. Then, just because, he stuck Mini-Moose on top of his head as well. "Keep an eye on him Moose!"

"Nyah!" Mini-Moose squeaked in response as GIR threw his tray to the side and raced out into the hall where Gaz was propping Zim up against the wall.

As she tried lifting his head up, GIR plopped himself between them and onto Zim's lap, causing him yell out in pain. "AHH! My legs...are being...squishified!"

"Don't worry master, Gazy and I will take care of you!" GIR said cheerfully. "We'll put ice packs all over you, and cover you in band-aids, and wrap your head in chicken wings! That'll make you feel better! And you'll smell! Like chicken!"

"Go…away…GIR!" Zim said through clenched teeth, the weight on his legs from the robot causing him unbearable levels of pain.

"But you needs mah help. I'm not going anywhere til you's no longer broken!" GIR said, hugging his master tightly, who let out a painful scream but had no strength to fight him off.

Thinking quickly, Gaz lifted the overzealous robot off Zim and took him aside. "You know, you're right, um...GIR...we do need your help. That's why I have a special mission for you. I need you to go out to the store and get me some bandages, gauze, sodium chloride, hydrogen peroxide, thiamine mononitrate, and Bloaty's chewable pain killers for kids. Think you can do it?"

GIR paused for a moment, then stood upright and saluted confidently. "I can do that nooooo problem!" He then ran toward the nearest lift and quickly exited the base.

"Is all that stuff...necessary?" Zim asked, groaning nervously.

"No. I just wanted to get rid of GIR. Those chewable tablets alone will keep him busy for hours." Gaz stated.

Zim gave her a surprised look. Had he not been in pain, he would've been greatly impressed. He attempted to sit up and flinched back with a snap.

Gaz knelt back onto the ground and quickly put her hand behind his head, stopping him just short of smacking it on the wall. "Quit moving. You look like you literally broke every bone in your body."

Zim gritted his teeth and attempted again to lean forward. "That's why I…need you…to reach my…PAK."

Gaz looked over at the device attached to his back and noticed a large circle in the middle that was blinking red. "Is this what you're trying to reach?"

"Yes! Press it! Quickly!" Zim said as he strained to lean forward.

Gaz pressed her palm against the button and the whole PAK lit up. "RE-ACTIVATING!"

With an electrical jolt, Zim gasped and lurched forward. After a few moments, the color returned to Zim's skin and the bruises and scrapes began to fade. Sitting back up, he let out a relieved sigh. "Ahh much better! My body should be all healed up now."

Gaz looked at him skeptically. "So you're all better, just like that?"

"Of course! Irkens have superior healing abilities thanks to our PAKs." Zim said confidently as he went to push himself off the ground. "Mine just needed a little jump start in order to- YEOUCHHH!" Zim then collapsed back onto the ground and grabbed his wrist. "Sweet merciful pig intestines, that hurts!"

Gaz looked over and noticed Zim clutching at his hand, which was bent at a weird angle and appeared to be bigger than his other hand, even under the glove. Reaching over, Gaz attempted to grab Zim's hand but only got two fingers on it before he flinched back painfully.

"Ouch! Don't do that!" Zim exclaimed.

"Would you relax? I just wanted to look at it." Gaz stated. "At least let me take your glove off."

"You will do no such thing!" Zim said keeping his hand away from her.

Gaz looked like she was going to be mad, but instead shrugged casually and stood up. "Fine. You don't want my help, then I guess I'll just head home, and we'll resume our game another time-"

"Wait!" Zim shouted before she could step away. After a moment of thought, Zim finally gave in. "Fine. Just…let me take it off myself."

Gaz glared at him in annoyance and waited as Zim slowly and delicately removed his glove. She then gasped in shock. His normally thin, three fingered hand was now greatly swollen, particularly around his jutted out wrist and his thumb, looking as if they had been snapped backwards like broken tree branches.

"Umm…is it just me, or does this not look right?" Zim asked, holding up his dangling dislocated thumb.

"Ugggh! Yeah that…looks pretty bad. Really, really bad..." Gaz admitted, trying not to be sick at the sight of it. Swallowing back her discomfort, she knelt down to examine it better. "Looks like you might've broken your wrist, and possibly dislocated your thumb. That is what you call this finger right?"

"Impossible! My PAK would've healed something like!" Zim said, trying to flex his hand and flinching from the effort.

"Well you can't exactly heal something that's not attached to the rest of your body. Now hold still, we need to fix this before it gets worse." Gaz said, cringing as she reluctantly closed her hand around his dangling thumb and used her other hand to hold his palm. "Okay, so this is gonna hurt. Like, a whole lot."

"Wait, what are you- GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Zim let out a loud blood-curdling scream as Gaz popped his thumb back into place and forcefully straightened out his wrist with two sickening cracks. Zim wrenched his hand away then proceeded to shout a bunch of long gibberish words, which Gaz only assumed to be some form of alien cursing.

"Well…that went better than I thought it would." Gaz said, ignoring Zim's cries. "No need to thank me or anything."

"ARGH! FILTHY LOATHSOME HUMAN!" Zim shouted at her. "I WILL DESTROY YOU IF YOU EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!"

"Oh quit your whining you big baby." Gaz said, unmoved by his threats. "The worst part is over. Now we need to treat the swelling. Try submerging your hand in ice for about an hour."

"Are you mad!? Why don't you just throw me in a tub of acid while you're at it!?" Zim said, again keeping his hand away from her.

"Alright, fine! We'll try something else." Gaz said, rolling her eyes as she remembered Zim's intolerance to water. Thinking for a moment, she then reached into her pocket. "Okay, I may have another solution. But you're going to have to take your other glove off."

"Why? Are you planning on snapping my other digits off too?" Zim asked suspiciously. He then watched as Gaz took out a small tube labeled 'Bends-a-way' and removed the cap. "What is that?"

"It's pain relief cream." Gaz explained. "You rub it on parts of your body where you feel pain and it numbs it. It won't do too much but it should work till GIR comes back with the bandages. Like I said, you need to take your gloves off though. The cream won't absorb through the fabric."

Eyeing the cream with uncertainty, Zim reluctantly used his teeth to pull off his other glove. Gaz then squeezed some of the cream into Zim's outstretched hand, causing him to cringe and shudder in disgust.

"Ugh, it's so…goopy!" Zim complained. He then smelled the cream and nearly gagged. "Blugh! And the smell! It's so vile!"

"Then stop smelling it and rub it on your hand already. Make sure you get between your fingers and around your wrist." Gaz instructed.

Zim looked wearily at the stuff in his hand and was about to put it on but stopped short, cringed and threw the remains onto the ground. "Eww, I can't! The horrible stench is too overpowering! Zim refuses to put something so repulsive on his skin!"

Gaz growled impatiently. "Look, I don't have all day to watch you squirm like a whiner. Why don't we just call it a day and hold off on finishing the game till you get better?"

"We will do no such thing!" Zim objected. "Our deal was that we finish the game!"

"Yeah but that doesn't mean we have to finish it today. I mean, you saved the game right? We can just pick up where we left off later. It's no big deal."

"It IS a big deal!" Zim exclaimed. "We are NOT postponing the game! I'll just…find another way to play! Maybe I can use my other fingers, or a robot hand or something. Ooh maybe I can hook up the controller directly to my brain-"

"Ugh, enough already! Your whining is starting to make me sick!" Gaz exclaimed. "Seriously, why is beating me at a video game so important to you? It's just a game! It means nothing!"

"It means EVERYTHING!" Zim shouted back. "It means…it means...ugh, forget it! You wouldn't understand!"

Gaz crossed her arms, half in frustration, half in curiosity. "Please, try me."

Zim paused for a moment then sighed in annoyance. "Fine! It's a big deal because...I can't afford to lose to an inferior being like you!"

Gaz looked insulted. "Excuse me?"

"I am a great Irken invader! If my Tallest were to find out I was defeated in an invasion simulation by a common Earth female, it would ruin my reputation forever! I'd become the laughing stock of Irk! They'll never send me on another mission again! I'll be doomed to spend the rest of my shame filled existence making horrid fast food for all the universes overfed pig smellys!"

"Oh, I see now." Gaz said in an indignant tone. "So losing to an Earth girl would hurt your precious alien ego and lead you to a life of flipping burgers? Well if that's the only reason you're so concerned with beating me, then you deserve that sort of punishment."

"Don't act so dumb!" Zim chastised. "This isn't about my ego or your gender! It's the fact that you're beneath me that's causing the problem!"

"And what's that supposed to mean exactly?" Gaz asked, feel her anger start to rise.

"You are a human. You and all the other humans on this filthy planet are automatically inferior to my race. We Irkens, from the moment of our creation, are trained to be the best at what we do. To be defeated by a lesser creature is to be labeled as incompetent and weak."

Gaz asked raising an eyebrow. "That's it? Hate to break it to you Zim, but that excuse is a load of dookie drops. In case you've forgotten, I've already defeated you. Three times now. Both in and outside the game. Heck, my dim-witted brother has somehow managed to defeat you even more times than that! If you're so concerned about being bested by 'an inferior race', then why aren't you in the other room challenging him to a rematch? Why is it more important that you get your revenge on me?"

"Because this isn't about revenge or dookie!" Zim exclaimed, growling in frustration. "It's-Ahh forget it! Why would I expect you to understand Zim? No one understands Zim! I try so hard to show off my genius and yet it goes unappreciated! Even the pathetic loathsome Earth creatures here treat me like I am dirt beneath their shoes, when they are the ones who should be bowing in the dirt to Zim!" He then slammed his good hand against the wall. "Gah! I hate this planet so much!"

"Then why don't you just leave?" Gaz asked. "Have your leaders assign you somewhere else. I'm sure there's a bunch of planets out there I've never heard of that you can attempt to take over."

Zim then let out a frustrated sigh and Gaz was surprised to see that he looked a little sad. "Don't you think I would if I could? I try so hard to impress my Tallest's with my superior genus in the hopes of getting better missions. Yet they ignore my brilliant ideas and give me petty tasks like working on a fast food planet or conquering this stench-filled dirt ball. Even with my best attempts, no one takes Zim seriously, whether it be on Earth or Irk. I can't even impress someone like you, a tiny Earth human who despite her size, is clearly the most ruthless and intelligent gaming champion of her species."

Gaz blinked in amazement, surprised that he held her in such high regards despite their animosity. Zim then slumped over and gave another depressed sigh. "Do you have any idea what it's like? Trying to constantly impress those who look down on you? Others you know you're better then? Who constantly treat you like you're...nothing?"

Seeing the sad look on his face, Gaz once again felt that annoying twinge of pity. She wasn't sure why she was feeling sorry for Zim, given what a self-absorbed, ego-maniacal jerk he was, yet she still felt less compelled to yell at him and even less so to be angry with him.

Zim noticed her staring and immediately cleared his throat, resuming his pompous scowl. "I'm suddenly not in the mood for gaming anymore tiny human. Take your brother and leave if you so wish. I'll just recapture you both at a later point. Now let Zim be so he may resume his recovery!" He then scooped some of the discarded cream off the ground and slathered it onto his hand, flinching and cringing as he tried rubbing it in.

After a few moments of discomfort, Zim felt something touch his shoulder and turned to see Gaz standing next to him.

"You're doing it wrong. Here." Gaz said, kneeling down and taking his goo covered hand into her own.

While normally he would've resisted, Zim was so surprised by her gesture that he found himself immobilized by her touch. It was only when Gaz began vigorously rubbing the cream onto Zim's hand that he noticed the pain again as he flinched and squirmed under her grip. Gaz persisted and eventually Zim's squirming subsided as he got used to the feel of the cream and Gaz's hands. Despite how calloused her fingers were, she was being surprisingly gentle with him. Soon the pain in Zim's hand began to subside allowing him to move his fingers without flinching.

"Huh. Doesn't seem to hurt as much as before." Zim said in amazement.

"Told ya." Gaz said, as she rubbed more onto his wrist.

Zim looked awkwardly off to the side and scratched the back of his head. "Hey...um...thanks, I guess...you didn't have to...I mean, I could've handled it myself you know."

"I'm sure you could." Gaz said, her eyes fixated on his hand.

The two then sat silently for a while until Zim decided to break the ice.

"So…do you always walk around with tubes of smelly gunk in your pocket?" Zim asked curiously, still flinching slightly at her rough fingers.

"No. I mean…well, I kinda have to. I play a lot of games if you hadn't noticed, so my hands tend to get a little stiff once in a while. Doctor said I may develop early carpal tunnel if I didn't ease up on the gaming. Peh. What does he know?" Gaz explained, stopping briefly to flex out her wrist which cracked a little.

"I see." Zim said, watching uneasily as she cracked her knuckles.

"At any rate, at least it helps numb any pain I feel when I start wailing on people, especially Dib." Gaz added, flexing her fist. "Maybe next time I can lend you some for when you both start fighting again."

"Hmm, I may take you up on that." Zim nodded. "Would've been nice to have something like that for all the times the boy nuisance has caused me physical harm. My PAK may offer quick healing but doesn't do much for pain. Now that I think about it, that kind of thing has happened a lot since I came to Earth. Seems like everywhere I go, someone wants to inflict pain upon Zim."

Gaz then glanced up and noticed Zim's eye, which was now a light purplish-green from where she punched him, as well as some of the faded bruises on his head from where she struck him with the cane. Despite knowing he very well deserved his punishment for stealing her game cartridge, she couldn't help but feel the guilty twinge again. "How's your eye?"

"Why do you care?" Zim asked.

"I don't…I...just don't want you going blind, or passing out from head trauma, or something like that. That tends to happen to some of the people I beat up." Gaz said, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "Besides, you can't exactly play the game if you're blind in one eye, unless you have some sort of super bionic robot eye I don't know about."

Zim looked at her in surprise. "You...still want to play with Zim? Even after I called you inferior and threatened to destroy you?"

"Well, we do have a deal going on." Gaz said, turning her head away as she scratched at her cheeks. "I'm just...upholding my end of it. Plus I'm already here so, may as well..."

Zim couldn't help but smile. Instead of clenching painfully like before, his squeedily spooch now felt like it was expanding like a big balloon, sending a warm fuzzy feeling throughout his body.

"Huh. Look at that." Gaz said, gesturing to Zim's hand. The Irken looked down and were amazed to see that the swelling in his hand had gone down tremendously.

"Well what do you know? That goopy stink cream worked after all!" Zim said, flexing his fingers in amazed as he turned his hand over. "I can barely feel the pain!"

"We should still check to make sure." Gaz then took his pointer finger and gently bent it forward into his palm. "Did that hurt?"

Zim waited for the pain to come yet strangely felt nothing. "No."

Gaz then did the same thing with his thumb. "How about now?"

"No…"

Gaz then took his whole hand and balled it into a fist. "How about now?"

Again, Zim waited. "I don't…feel anything."

Gaz suddenly looked concerned. She then opened up his hand and placed her pointer finger at the top of his. "Tell me if you feel anything when I do this."

She then lightly and slowly traced her finger downward toward his palm. Zim couldn't help but shudder from the sensation, closing his eyes briefly as her finger circled around his palm. Though it initially felt unnatural to him, he soon found himself strangely enjoy it.

"Well?" Gaz asked, sliding her finger over his thumb.

Zim opened his eyes again as he struggled to find the proper words. "It feels…oogey. And…a little tingly? And…kinda nice."

Gaz nodded in relief. "That's good. I guess the cream worked better than we thought. Still, you should wear something just to be safe." She then reached back into her pocket and pulled out what appeared to be half a glove that covered only the wrist, lower palm and thumb.

Zim looked at her questionably, causing her to roll her eyes. "Yes, I keep this in my pocket too. It helps me when my wrist starts cramping up."

She then carefully slid the glove over Zim's hand and strapped it on, keeping it tight but not too tight so he could still move his hand comfortably. "There. How does it feel?"

Gaz looked up to see Zim silently staring at her, to the point where it was making her uncomfortable. "What?"

"Why did you help Zim?" he asked finally.

Gaz looked slightly taken back by the question but quickly cleared her throat. "Um, uh…what do you mean? We still have a game to finish don't we? I'm just getting you back into gaming mode is all. That is what you wanted right?"

"I'm talking about before. You could've turned me over to your government leaders, or summoned them to my base, or just left me pinned under that screen and escaped with Dib. Those are all things I would've done... well, except the escaping with Dib part." Zim added. "How come you didn't?"

Gaz paused, unsure of how to answer and decided to busy herself by adjusting the straps on Zim's glove. "It's like I said…we made a deal. Plus, I want to see the end of the game, since not even Game Pit Magazine would reveal the secret ending. Also…I kinda get it."

"Get what?" Zim asked.

Gaz readjusted a strap and glanced up at him, a serious look on her face. "Being stuck on a planet full of morons that don't get you. Morons who think you're not worth their time…who would rather give their attention to people less important then you…"

Zim looked curiously at Gaz who continued. "It stinks being better than everyone else sometimes. No one cares if you're smart or good at video games or anything like that. They'd rather ignore you or pretend you don't exist. They don't want to understand. Even your own family doesn't bother to understand. All they care about is saving this stupid world and pleasing all the mindless idiots who live on it!"

Gaz then narrowed her eyes and began clenching her fist in anger. "Sometimes…sometime, I wish you aliens would come and take over this stupid planet! Just so I can see all those stupid jerks be put in chains, forced to watch as you destroy everything they've created and slowly burn all their idiotic enjoyments to the ground!"

Zim then noticed her fists shaking and there seemed to be deadly flaming skulls in the reflection of her eyes. Despite how utterly terrifying she looked, Zim couldn't help but gaze upon her with intrigue and even admiration. He had never encountered a creature that hated its own race so much, who would willingly destroy their whole world and enslave their own species out of sheer spite. Her desire for destruction and human misery alone was enough to make Zim's insides squirm with joy.

Gas stopped for a moment to calm down before focusing her attention back on fixing Zim's glove. "This is gonna sound weird but…let's say you DID manage to successfully take over Earth...I wouldn't be against helping you. Heck even if your plan involved blowing up Dib on a regular basis, I'd join you in a heartbeat."

"You...you would? Really?" Zim asked, feeling strangely excited at the prospect.

"Well, yeah." Gaz nodded. "You and I both despise this planet equally so it makes sense. Plus I've seen some of your past world domination plans in action and I can definitely tell you put your all into it, even if most of them fail and are nonsensical or misdirected."

"Umm...thanks?" Zim said, uncertain as to whether she insulted or complimented him.

"I'll be honest Zim, despite all the annoyances I've had to endure over the past few days, I actually sort of admire all the effort you put into getting me down here." Gaz admitted. "Between learning how to play video games and stealing a dozen stores worth of game cartridges, it's definitely the most trouble anyone's ever gone through just to me to come to their house. You even went the extra mile to get the kind of pizza and soda I like."

"Well, that was more a generalized guess from all the recycled material I've seen stacked outside your house." Zim admitted then quickly added. "Not that I look through your trash or anything!"

"Still, not even my own dad and brother know that much about me…all they care about is science or paranormal junk. I'm just more of an afterthought. You however, went above and beyond to try and please me. I actually find that kind of determination sort of…sweet. Really creepy and deranged, but mostly sweet." Gaz said, pausing for a moment before looking at Zim with the smallest of smiles. Feeling an odd chill go down his spine, Zim's nervously tried averting his gaze only to look down as she gave his hand a small squeeze. The gesture alone was enough to get his insides squirming happily again.

"Look Zim, I know this whole thing is about defending your title or honor or whatever but…I'm kinda glad that you took the time to hang out with me, even if it was originally part of a revenge plot for Dib. Now that I think about it, it's probably one of the better plans you've had in a while, even if it didn't fully work out the way you intended. Still, you didn't give up. I'll admit, that's something I've grown to both hate and like about you."

Zim blinked in surprise, unable to believe that Gaz of all people was now praising him and his efforts. Upon seeing the genuine look of appreciation on her face, the corners of Zim's mouth slowly turned upward and he bit his lower lip as his chin began to tremble, his eyes misting up like he was about to cry.

Confused by the strange emotional look on his face, Gaz averted her gaze back to his hand and quickly finished tightening the last strap. "Well anyways, your hand seems better now so I guess we should get back to the game. The glove should keep you from injuring your hand further, though you might want to keep the pain relief cream nearby just in case…"

She was just about to let go of Zim's hand when he unexpectedly closed it around hers. Gaz looked up at him in surprise as he gave her the most sincere, most appreciative look she'd ever seen him give anybody. Then without warning, Zim pulled her into a big hug.

"Uhh, Zim..what are you-?" She was then cut off as Zim hugged her tighter, much to her confusion and discomfort.

"Thank you Gaz human!" Zim said gratefully, holding Gaz tightly. "Thank you for finally acknowledging Zim's greatness and for being so impressed with his genius!"

Gaz was so taken back by Zim gratitude, she was unable to move or even speak. Luckily he was quick to let go and looked upon her with excitement. "I assure you, Zim will give it his all no matter what. And however the outcome will be, I will have considered it a great honor."

Finally Gaz found her voice. "Consider 'what' a great honor?"

"To have fought against the best, most worthy human gamer I've ever known." Zim said admirably.

Gaz looked at Zim in amazement. She never heard anyone call her the best at anything before, even it was true. As Zim gazed happily upon her, Gaz found herself getting lost in his large ruby-colored eyes. Suddenly her face began to sweat, her chest was pounding like a jack hammer and her stomach felt like it had been filled with butterflies. Had Zim not been holding onto her, Gaz felt like she could've floated away.

Noticing her face was drastically changing to a beet red color, Zim's smile faded to concern. "Hey, what's wrong with your face? You look like you're about to be sick."

"I…uh…" As Gaz struggled to find her voice, Zim unexpectedly put his hand on her forehead. The gesture alone was enough to paralyze her while Zim examined the contours of her face. Feeling how warm and sweaty she was, he wondered if she was developing a fever. His then slid the back of his hand down her cheek, causing Gaz to turn even redder and her cheeks even warmer.

It wasn't until Zim slid his fingers under her chin that Gaz finally came back to her senses and instinctively grabbed his wrist, squeezing it somewhat tightly. Zim winced under her grip and squinted at Gaz who shot him a warning look.

"Do you mind?" Zim asked, straining under her grip. "I just healed that arm you know."

"You're getting a little too close for my liking." Gaz said, maintaining her hold.

"I was just checking your facial temperature is all!" Zim objected. "You look unwell. I figured since you helped me with my affliction…it only seemed fair that I return the favor."

"I'm fine Zim. I'm just..."

Gaz paused, wondering if she should tell him she was merely blushing. Unfortunately, that meant also having to tell him WHY she was blushing. Seeing as he was making a valid attempt to stay on her good side, Gaz released her grip on his arm but stared sternly at him. "Alright. You can examine me. But no funny stuff."

Zim looked at her questionably and rubbed his aching wrist. Making sure to move more carefully this time, Zim placed his hand back under her chin and began examining her face again. Slowly Zim turned her face from side to side, upwards and downwards, looking for any signs of a rash or infection, all while Gaz waited for him to be done. Eventually Zim's gaze lingered down toward her mouth and settled on her lips. Noticing that they looked and were shaped differently from his own, Zim leaned in curiously to get a better look.

Gaz jerked back from Zim's hand as he suddenly began closing the distance between them. "Umm...what are you doing?"

"I was just...curious about something." Zim attempted to explain.

"About what exactly?" Gaz asked suspiciously.

"Your mouth flaps…they're a different color then the rest of your face. They're also…puffier." Zim said his gaze still fixed upon them. "Is that normal?"

"Well, yeah for humans it is…most of the time." Gaz said, suddenly feeling self-conscious as she touched her mouth.

The more Zim stared at Gaz's lips, the more his curiosity grew. Not only did he yearn to get a better look, he wanted to feel them too. As he reached out to touch her again, Gaz grabbing his arm once more, this time with less force then before. "Zim…don't…"

"I'm not gonna do anything bad. I just...want to make sure you're really okay." Zim said, attempting to be sincere.

Though unsure whether to trust him, Gaz loosened her grip enough to allow Zim to use both his hands but kept her grip in case she needed to push him away again.

With some hesitation, Zim cupped her face and placed both hands on the sides of her face. He began tracing his right thumb gently down her cheek causing Gaz's face to soften a little. Once his thumb reached her jawline, Gaz's free hand then reached up and grabbed Zim's other arm, only this time she didn't squeeze or even pull them away. Instead, she seemed to be holding onto him for support as she was apparently enjoying the sensation from his touch. Wanting to put her at ease, Zim slowly ran his thumb across her chin and up over her bottom lip. Gaz inhaled deeply and couldn't help but close her eyes, her body trembling as an intense shiver ran down her spine. Suddenly it felt like she was melting right into Zim's arms.

Zim meanwhile continued to brush his thumb over her lips, enjoying how soft and warm they were. As she slowly tightened her hold on him, Zim experienced the same shiver coursing throughout his body, as well as a hot tingly feeling that lingered on his own lips. Despite the growing heat between them, Zim felt a strong desire to get closer and began scooting his way forward till their knees were almost touching. Zim slid his hands back over her cheeks, tilted Gaz's head up slightly and slowly leaned forward, stopping only mere inches so he could feel the heat coming off her face. He then started to breathe in her scent which strangely no longer disgusted him. Instead, he found it almost intoxicating and before he knew it, he was closing his eyes and leaned forward. Gaz, sensing that Zim was closing in, put up no resistance and instead, leaned forward a little in anticipation...

Just then, GIR slowly emerged from behind Zim's shoulder, staring creepily at both of them with a huge grin across his face. "You gonna kiss her now?"

Zim and Gaz let out a scream at the sudden intrusion, causing both to jump back and release their grip on each other. Zim stood up and quickly tried to compose himself while Gaz turned away and covered her mouth in embarrassment. GIR on the other hand stood there with a goofy grin on his face, staring between the both of them and breaking into fits of giggles. "You two look like big red and green tomato's!"

"GIR! What are you doing back so soon?" Zim demanded, his anger now overtaking his embarrassment.

"I got the stuff you wanted!" GIR declared, dropping a big bag with the word 'stuff' down between them and emptied its contents onto the floor. Both looked over at the pile, which consisted of toilet paper, a couple jars of pickles, a sombrero, a pair of maracas and three buckets of fried chicken. "They had all this at the mall! I did good right?"

"Ummmm..." Gaz looked uncertainly at the robot, who seemed to be waiting with baited breath for her approval. "Yeah, you got everything. Great job."

GIR then giggled in excitement and ran circles around them before running back down the hall. Zim and Gaz looked awkwardly around, refusing to meet each other's eyes or even speak. Moments of silence passed that felt like an eternity to them both. While Zim tried not to think about what just happened in an attempt at calming himself down, Gaz felt her warm, fuzzy feelings evaporate and quickly replaced with anger and resentment, both at Zim and herself.

Finally Zim cleared his throat. "Ahem, yes, well…thank you for getting me back into gaming mode, er…foolish human!" He then quickly grabbed his gloves off the floor and slipped them back on. "Now there is nothing to stop me from…uh, defeating you in glorious battle! Yes! Let us return to our game shall we? So I may defeat you! In battle!"

"Yeah…whatever." Gaz responded, standing back up as she kept her eyes firmly on the wall, her face still flushed in embarrassment as she walked past Zim and down the hall, wanting to be as far from him as possible.


	7. Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get awkward between Zim and Gaz, as well as chaotic in the kitchen...

Chapter 7: Distractions

Back in the main control room, Zim stood over the ruined remains of the gaming station, using a scanner to examine the broken panel and scattered pieces. Gaz meanwhile was leaning against a nearby wall with her arms crossed. An impatient grimace was plastered on her face as she watched Zim attempt in vain to remove bits and pieces of the built in game console.

"Will you hurry up already? I told you nothing in that pile could possibly still work, so why don't we move on?"

"Silence! Zim wants to make sure his tech can be salvaged."

Unfortunately every time he tried extracting the parts, they either were damaged beyond repair or broke upon removal. Even the wires connecting the controllers were completely severed and destroyed.

"Argh, this is pointless!" Zim said, throwing down his gadget. "Nothing in this scrapheap is salvageable!"

"Oh no, really? And here I thought a game console would survive having a giant TV dropped on it." Gaz said sarcastically. "So what now, invader genius? Are we gonna dig through trash now to find a working console?"

"Cease your comments snarky human! Zim is trying to think…" Zim said as he pondered over their options, while Gaz rolled her eyes.

Meanwhile over in the corner, Dib was still pinned against the wall, his mouth still bulging with pizza puffs while GIR sat on top of his head eating a bucket of fried chicken. Dib let out a muffled sound and glanced up at GIR, who looked at him for a moment, reached into Dib's open mouth and took out a pizza puff which he replaced with a chicken wing. GIR then proceeded to eat the pizza puff, causing Dib to growl in annoyance.

"Come on, don't you have like, several surveillance TV's laying around this place?" Gaz pointed out. "Surely one of them has a gaming system we could use, or at least is compatible with one."

Zim thought to himself for a moment. "I suppose we could use the media player in the upstairs living room. It does play multiple devices, plus the television is linked into the computer, so setting it up for game play shouldn't be too difficult."

"Well what are you waiting for? Let's hurry up and get this over with already." Gaz said impatiently.

"Computer! Begin set-up for gaming unit on the upstairs television!" Zim commanded out loud.

A few moments passed and there was no response. Zim arched an eyebrow. "I said, begin set-up for gaming unit on the upstairs television! Computer!?"

Again, there was nothing but silence. Zim looked confused.

"Oh great, don't tell me your computer is broken too?" Gaz sighed.

"Of course not!" Zim replied. "It's possible the collapse of the screen damaged some of its vocal and auditory functions for this room. No matter. We shall head upstairs and I will command it from there."

"And if it still doesn't work?" Gaz asked.

"It'll take some extra time but with the right tools, I can set the system up manually if need be." Zim said, grabbing his tool box.

"Extra time?" Gaz said, a slight not of panic in her voice. "Like how much?"

"Oh you know...about several hours or so...GIR! Come help me set the gaming system upstairs!"

"Coming!" GIR then jumped off Dib's head with the bucket of fried chicken, paused for moment, then left a chicken leg on top of his head before running toward Zim.

Zim grabbed the game cartridge along with the flash drive and put them inside GIR's head before the robot went racing out of the room. Zim grabbed his tool box and made to follow after GIR but stopped in the doorway when he noticed Gaz wasn't following them. Instead was still standing by the wall with her back to them, her arms now uncrossed.

"Um, aren't you coming?" Zim asked as he gestured toward the hallway. "The TV is upstairs you know."

"I know just...give me a couple minutes." Gaz said, still staring at the wall.

"I thought you wanted to get this over with? How is it okay for you to take your time but Zim gets yelled at for even breathing too slow?"

"I need to...do some stuff."

"Stuff?" Zim asked skeptically. "What is this 'stuff' you speak of? Is it deadly? This better not be a trick!"

"It's not, okay!?" Gaz snapped, staring at the floor. "Just...just go on ahead! I'll meet you both upstairs."

Zim noticed she wasn't looking directly at him and became concerned. It was then Zim realized that Gaz hadn't moved from her spot since they came back into the room and appeared to be purposely keeping her distance from him. He then walked forward and put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to immediately tense up.

"You know, Zim could help if you just ask. The sooner you get whatever 'stuff' you need done, the sooner we can-"

"I SAID I would only be a couple minutes!" Gaz said in a harsher tone, facing him as she roughly shoved away his hand. "That means leave me alone Zim!"

Zim looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong with you? You're acting grouchy...well, grouchy-er. And not in your usual Earth-hating human way."

Gaz looked as if she were about to shout but instead clenched her jaw and turned away.

Getting agitated, Zim circled around till they were facing each other again. "Look, I don't know I did to anger you this time, but whatever it is can wait. Right now we need to return to the game and finish our battle before something else breaks or ends up falling on me!"

Gaz narrowed her eyes at him and walked away toward the other side of the room toward Dib who was watching them curiously.

"Oh, so your back to ignoring me huh? Real mature Gaz!" Zim said as he followed after her. "You weren't acting like this earlier when I was touching your face."

Gaz stopped dead in her tracks, clenched her fist and turned to face him, an angry look on her face. Zim, seeing her reaction, came to a realization.

"Wait, is that what this is all about?" Zim then laughed in amusement. "Hah! Foolish human, getting upset over something so frivolous! Don't tell me you got all riled up over a simple examination? I thought you were tougher then that, tiny little human?"

"Enough Zim." Gaz said in a warning tone, a murderous look radiating in her eyes. Zim however pressed on, oblivious to her rising anger.

"Need I remind you who it was that gave Zim permission in the first place? You could've stopped me at any point during the examination you know. You didn't have to let me get that close. But you did. You wanted me to touch your face. In fact, I daresay you were even enjoying it-YEOUCH!!"

In a flash, Gaz jabbed Zim in both eyes and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. Zim let out a small cry as she forced him onto his knees. She then grabbed his antennae and pulled his head back, causing him to yell out in pain. From the corner, Dib's eyes lit up in surprise and let out some muffled cheers of encouragement.

"Ahh! What are you-"

"Listen up and listen good Zim." Gaz said in a deadly whisper, holding his head back with one hand while maintaining her grip on his arm with the other. "What happened before in the hallway will NOT happen again. I may have helped you earlier, but that doesn't mean we're friends. I know how you work, and if you think manipulating me by acting nice and lowering my defenses will help you win this game, then you are DEAD WRONG!"

Gaz then let go of Zim's head and kicked him in the back, causing him to stumble onto the ground. Zim looked up fearfully back at Gaz, who was now surrounded by an eerie purple glow and glaring darkly upon him with bright red demon eyes. Zim started to sweat and scuttled backwards as she advanced toward him.

"I will defeat you Zim." Gaz declared, her voice now reverberating with a demonic echo and sounds of thunder. "And after I do, I will plunge you into a nightmare of suffering you cannot escape. You will rue the day you decided to challenge me! By the end of our battle, I will reduce you to DUST!"

A bolt of energy then zapped the ground between in front of her, cause of a wall of flames to erupt between her and Zim, who let out a scream and scuttled backwards til he collided with the door. As he looked around for the panel, Gaz slowly emerged through the flames, lifting up a finger which she pointed menacingly at him.

"Now then...heed my command and go upstairs right now, before I re-break your arms AND your legs AND dig out the back of your skull with a rusted SPOON!"

Taken back by her terrifying anger, Zim fumbled with the door panel before getting it open and running through, not stopping till he was safely in the lift with GIR and quickly shutting the doors.

Gaz glared after him and waited till the doors were closed before finally toning down her evil energy, causing the fire to disappear and her eyes to return to normal. It was only once Zim was gone that she felt a huge sudden surge of guilt, this time twice as strong as what she felt before. Squeezing her eyes shut, she turned her back to the door and covered her face, trying to calm herself with deep controlling breathes.

_"Seems like I everywhere I go, someone wants to inflict pain upon Zim..."_

She tried convincing herself that Zim deserved the pain she has wracked upon him, but couldn't concentrate as she kept picturing the terrified look on Zim's face, which surprisingly made her feel worse. Although she's seen that type of look on other unfortunate souls that had dared to anger her, she had never felt bad about causing them such distress before. Gritting her teeth, she began repeatedly punching the wall, trying desperately to squash what little feeling of remorse still lingered.

* * *

In the lift, Zim was taking deep breaths in an effort to calm himself down. Thinking back to Gaz's threats, his feelings of terror were quickly replaced by anger and outrage.

"GAH, this is ridiculous! Look at me! Cowering in fear from that filthy demon child. SHE should be the one doing the cowering! How dare she think she can threaten the almighty Zim!" He let out an agitated growl and began banging his fists against the wall of the lift. "After everything I've done to appease her, she still wants to destroy me over the slightest offense! What. Is. Her. DEAL?"

While Zim continued to take his frustrations out on the wall, GIR sat on the floor dipping his fried chicken into a jar of mayo and eating it slowly as he watched Zim with curious interest. He then started to mimic Zim and cheerfully smacked his mayo covered chicken leg against the floor before dancing on it.

After tiring himself out, Zim slammed his back against the wall and slid to the floor. He began rubbing his throbbing, aching wrists and noticed his one arm felt different than usual. Rolling up his glove, she saw the brace Gaz had fitted him with earlier and tracing his finger along the straps, which still held tight despite all the punching he did to the wall.

Zim glared at it in resentment. Between looking at the wrist brace and feeling the painful sting from where she pulled on his antennas, Zim felt more baffled and infuriated than ever about Gaz's treatment towards him.

"GAHH! Why are Earth females so confusing!?" Zim exclaimed out loud. "First she threatens to hurt me if I go near her, then she lets me get close enough to actually touch her, and now she's hurting me because I got too close? Zim doesn't get it! Someone explain this strangeness to Zim!"

Zim then heard a giggling noise and glanced over to see GIR with a sly grin plastered on his face. His grin was so wide, Zim couldn't help but glare at him in agitation. "What are you cackling on about?"

GIR snickered. "She likes you."

Zim arched an eyebrow at him. "You're talking nonsense GIR. More than usual."

"But she does. That's why she always beated you up so bad." GIR pointed out.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Zim exclaimed. "What sort of creature would hurt something it likes? You saw how she treated me before, clearly she hates me!"

"But she doesn't. She liiiiiikes you! And yoooouuuu…" GIR said, sliding closer towards his master. "You likes her back!"

"No I don't!" Zim objected.

"But you do! Hee hee!" GIR said in a teasing manner. "You loooooooves her! You want to huuuuugggs her! You tried to kiiiissssss her!"

"LIES! YOU'RE A LYING SACK OF CHICKEN AND LIES!" Zim yelled, standing up as he pointed an accusing finger at his robot.

"But you did!" GIR gushed. "You was gonna kiss her, and tell her you loves her, then ride off together into the sunset on a white pony, followed by the end credits and singing toothpaste commercials!"

"I was going to do nothing of the sort!" Zim objected. "What you saw before was…was just...all I did was closely examine her mouth extremities! She looked like she was gonna be sick or something."

"Sounds like a kiss to me." GIR giggled.

"Bah! What do YOU know about human kissing?" Zim scoffed.

"It's just like what the peoples on the TV do!" GIR then took a small handheld TV out of his head, turned it on and handed it to Zim.

Zim looked curiously at the small television, which featured a scene from a soap opera where an attractive red headed woman was hugging a shirtless man with bandages wrapped around his head.

_"Oh Roberto, I don't care if your my husband's, brother's, friend's, half-sister's, evil twin and you have a horrible case of super amnesia. I will love no other but you!"_

" _Be gone with you, attractive mystery woman! Before I strike you down with my ninja skills that I may possibly have. Love doesn't exist for a supposed stone-hearted loner like me!"_

" _No Roberto! I won't leave you! You may be abusive and manipulative, but deep down I know you have a heart of gold to go with those incredible abs of yours! Let me prove my love to you!"_

Zim then watched as the woman pulled the man into a sweet passionate kiss, set against the background of a setting cardboard sun on a clearly fake beach.

At first he felt disgusted, given all he'd seen go in and out of human mouths, but as he watched them deepen their kiss, he felt a familiar fuzzy feeling similar to whenever he and Gaz were near each other. Watching as they wrapped their arms tightly around each other, Zim was suddenly picturing himself doing the same to Gaz, holding her close to his body and pressing his mouth against hers. The very idea began to make his head spin and turn his face a very dark green.

_"My memories! They came back! Oh no, I just remembered! Your adopted 2nd cousin Sue is about to crash a jet into my mother's wedding to the local mob boss and set off a bomb in 20 minutes! And she's carrying my love child!"_

_"WHAT? Not again! I can't believe you cheated on me a 4th time, you lying cheating jerk!"_  The woman cried out before awkwardly slapping the man across the forehead.

" _Ahh! My memories! They're lost again! Where am I? Who are you!? What is happening to my world!?"_

Zim shook himself out of his fantasy and tossed the TV back into GIR's head. "Ugh! How revolting! I'd rather get my brain sucked out by space slugs."

"No you wouldn't. Hee, hee!" GIR giggled with glee. "You wants to kiss her, I knows you doo. Yous blushing right now just thinking about it."

"No I'm not!" Zim said sternly, trying to cover his darkening cheeks. "Just...shut your filthy junk hole GIR!"

GIR snickered, dancing excitedly around Zim as he sang. "Zim and Gazy, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-DOG-ROCK-PURPLE!" GIR then dissolved into hysterical laughter and rolled around on the floor while Zim seethed in anger.

"ENOUGH!" Zim commanded, grabbing GIR by the head and forcing him to stand up. "Let's get one thing straight GIR: I feel NOTHING for that human! I CAN'T feel anything for that human! The only thing I feel is disappointment and shame in myself for thinking I felt something. Well, no more! And as soon as I defeat her in the game, I shall destroy her and her horrible stink-brother once and for all! Once she is out of the picture, she'll be out of my head! And then I can focus on what's really important..."

"Tacos?" GIR asked excitedly. "Is it tacos? It's taco's right? Give me tacos!"

Zim glared at the robot and crossed his arms. "Let's just hurry up and get this over with, before something else inconvenient and annoying happens."

Then was a ding as the lift reached the top floor where the couch sat. Zim walked out into the living room but immediately jumped back in as a horrible sight met his eyes.

"SWEET SLATHERING SLORG POX, WHAT IS ALL THAT?"

The entire living room was covered in what appeared to be small blobby masses of dough and cheese with squid tentacles sticking out of them. They were crawling all over the floor and over furniture, leaving trials of ink that slowly began melting the stuff they were crawling on.

GIR, who was sucking on a chicken leg bone, stood up and looked around at all the creatures before his face lit up in realization. "Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you…the puffs came to life and are eating our house."

All at once, the creatures turned their beady soulless eyes toward Zim and GIR, who stood with their backs against the lift. Gnashing their razor sharp teeth, the cheesy squids launched themselves forward and began their attack.

* * *

Meanwhile back downstairs, Gaz was repeatedly punching a stuffed pig she found lying on the buffet table. Dib watched her with unnerved interest, for while he was used to Gaz taking her anger out on their toys and other inanimate objects, he hadn't seen her be that abusive in a while. Gaz then threw the pig to the ground and began jumping on it till eventually it stopped squeaking. Since Dib's mouth was still stuffed with food, he started to form muffled words in an attempt to communicate.

Gaz paused briefly to acknowledge her brother's barely cohesive words. "What do you want fish-breath?"

Even though Dib knew better than to attract Gaz's attention when angry, his curiosity got the better of him and he let out a muffled noise as he attempted to ask a question.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Gaz asked as she continued to stomp on the animal. "I'm taking my anger out on this stupid pig. Consider yourself lucky it's not your head."

Dib let out another muffled noise in the form of a question.

Gaz stopped stomping the pig and glared back at him. "What do you mean why? Cause I want to, that's why! Because I need to! And because if I don't do it to this pig, I was gonna do it to Zim's stupid face!"

Dib arched an eyebrow and let out another muffled sound.

"I DON'T care whether he gets hurt or not! That idiot alien can rot at the bottom of a ditch for all I care. Would serve him right, given all he's done. Kidnapping me, holding me hostage, stealing my stuff, making me feel ba-" Gaz then stopped and turned away, a mixture of anger and embarrassment on her face. Dib looked curiously at Gaz, unsure as to what she meant but noticed that her hands were shaking.

Clenching her fists tight, Gaz grabbed the pig off the ground, threw it into the air and punched it with such extreme force that it zoomed across the room and crashed into a nearby wall of game cartridges, causing it explode and topple over onto the floor.

One of the Super Space Conqueror cartridges slid across the floor and stopped at Gaz's feet. She glared down at it resentfully, realizing it was because of that game that Zim began stalking her in the first place. Placing her foot on top, she attempted to crush it when Mini-Moose suddenly floated in front of her, looking up innocently.

Gaz glared at the creature. "What do you want?"

"Nyah!" Mini-Moose leaned his head forward, which was balancing a single can of Power Burst.

Pausing for a moment, Gaz stepped off the game cartridge and grabbed the energy drink. As she looked at it, she remembered all the trouble Zim went through trying to make her happy and her angry scowl softened a little. As much as she hated to admit it, she had been having fun with Zim earlier and kinda enjoyed the attention he was giving her. Thinking back to his amusing stories and how much they made her laugh, Gaz's face became warm and her head started spinning, much to her confusion and annoyance.

"Ugh! What is going on!? Why do I keep feeling like this? Everything is so confusing, it's…it's making me sick…" Gaz said, holding her head and stomach as she knelt down onto the ground, hoping it would help to stop the spinning. "It's like I have a migraine that won't go away...just like Zim..."

Her thoughts then wandered back to earlier when Zim was holding her face and brushing his fingers against her cheek and lips. No one had ever touched her like that before and just thinking about it was enough to make her heart race and her head spin faster. The fact that anyone, much less someone like Zim, was able to put her in such a vulnerable state, both confused and terrified her. She was supposed to be tough and above such silly human emotions. And yet, as she pictured Zim's big red eyes staring back at her, she felt her face grow warmer and the nauseous feeling in her stomach grow worse.

Gaz then shook her head and clenched her fist in determination. "No! I won't let him get to me. This whole weirdo plan of his to syke me out isn't going to work. I will defeat Zim, and once I whoop his sorry butt in the game, I'm gonna whoop his butt all over town! I'll beat him up so bad he'll be afraid to even set foot outside his base. Yeah...the sooner I defeat him, the sooner I won't ever have to deal with him again."

With that thought in mind, Gaz then pocketed the energy drink and walked over to Dib, who was surprised when she gave him a somewhat cheerful look. "Thanks Dib. You can be really helpful when your mouth doesn't work."

Dib looked briefly offended but then perked up as he let out another muffled question.

"Nope. I'm still not letting you go. I just wanted to grab something to eat." Gaz then picked the chicken leg off of Dib's head and took a bite out of it before turning to Mini-Moose. "Moose, you're in charge of Dib. Make sure he doesn't escape."

"Nyah!" Mini-Moose squeaked joyfully as Gaz tossed the rest of the chicken wing into his open mouth.

She then walked toward the door, turning briefly to address Dib. "Don't do anything dumb til I get back."

Dib let out muffled cries of objection which Gaz ignored. She then exited through the door into the hall, pausing briefly to activate the lock on it before heading toward the nearest lift.

Dib struggled against the robot arm to no avail. He could feel the grease and cheese from the pizza puffs dripping down his mouth and decided to make a bold move. With one big gulp, he swallowed the pizza puffs all at once and exhaled in relief.

"AHH! Finally! Phew!" Dib exclaimed, taking a breath. "Now, to get back to escap-blak, bleh, BLAK!"

Dib then felt something get caught in his throat and shook his head back and forth trying to dislodge it. With one with big hacking cough, he spat out the chicken wing GIR had stuffed into his mouth before, which zoomed across the room and hit the broom, knocking it over onto the release button. Dib felt the metal arm release its grip on him, causing him to stumble onto the ground.

"Wow! That was lucky!" Dib said as he got to his feet with some difficulty. Mini-Moose then floated forward and squeaked at him. Dib froze, unsure of what to do as the small creature stared blankly back at him. Thinking quickly, Dib grabbed a slice of pizza off the buffet table and offered it to Mini-Moose. "Hey little guy. You still hungry?"

"Nyah!" Mini-Moose squeaked excitedly and opened its mouth in expectation.

"You want it?" Dib asked, waving the pizza slice around before hurling it into the far corner. "Go get it!"

Mini-Moose then chased after the pizza, much to Dib's relief. "Good. Now that it's distracted, it's time to go save Gaz!…urgh…and find a bathroom…" Clutching his now bulging stomach, Dib waddled over to the door and tried opening it. Realizing it was locked, Dib took off the nearby panel and got to work on trying to disable the door wires.

In the corner, Mini-Moose was happily munching away on the pizza slice, unaware that Dib was trying to escape. What he did notice however was that a pizza puff, which had been stuck on the chicken wing Dib coughed up from before, had now grown a mouth and tentacles and was now chowing down on the chicken til not even the bones were left. The creature grew twice its size and then slowly began crawling its way towards Mini-Moose.

Thinking it was still hungry, Mini-Moose happily offered it the leftover remains of his pizza crust. The creature lifted up its tentacles as if about to take it, but instead seized Mini-Moose and managed to swallow him in one gulp. The creature again grew again, sprouted antlers and began crawling its way toward the nearby buffet table.

* * *

Upstairs in the living room, Zim and GIR were standing precariously on top of the arm chair while the squid puff monsters crawled around them. The creatures had managed to swarm the couch before the pair could retreat back down the lift and had now disintegrated it into a pile of cheesy mush. They then tried escaping down the chair lift, but the creatures immediately surrounded them and melted the access panel with their ink, preventing the hidden doors from being activated.

Gnashed their teeth up the pair, the squid puffs spat ink at them which began slowly began eating away at the cushiony chair.

"This is all your fault GIR! I told you not to mess with the cloner!" Zim exclaimed. "Now look at the mess you've gotten us into!"

"Aww it's not so bad. Least now we got plenty of snacks!" GIR said optimistically, leaning down to grab one of the puffs which squirmed in his grip.

He then tossed it into his mouth and started chewing. GIR's metal face then turned a sickly green and he violently vomited up several of the puffs he'd eaten before onto the ground below. The half-chewed puffs all sprouted tentacles and let out loud hisses as they began crawling their way back up the chair. GIR cowered in fear behind Zim, who looked less then amused.

"Bah, useless robot! Look's like I'll have to take care of this myself!"

Zim then summoned his laser cutters from his PAK and used them to zap through a bunch of the creatures around them, slicing many of them in half and leaving burn marks everywhere. He smiled down at the smoldering blobs victoriously but then immediately gasped in horror as the gooey balls of dough and cheese either reformed or split into more creatures. Now with twice as many little creatures as before, they quickly resumed their attack on the chair.

"AHH! GIR! Stop hiding and do something!" Zim commanded, stepping back as continued to zap them off the edge.

GIR still looked scared but nonetheless stood next to Zim and summoned a set of lasers and missiles out of his head, which he pointed right at the creatures. Before he could launch them, two squid puff monsters suddenly dropped from the ceiling and latched onto his wires, chewing on them thoroughly. GIR let out a scream and wrenched his weapons out of his head, throwing them and the squid puffs across the room where they were immediately set upon and devoured by the other squid puffs. GIR glanced sheepishly at Zim who looked furious.

"Way to go GIR, now you have no weapons!" Zim exclaimed.

"But, but…they tried eating me!" GIR whimpered, his chin quivering.

Just then the chair beneath them shook and rose up, causing some of squid puffs to fall off and squirm away. Zim grabbed the chair to steady himself and looked down to see Gaz walking out of the hidden lift.

"Hey Zim, is the game ready yet-WHAT IN THE!??" Gaz froze upon seeing all the squid puffs and looked around in shock. "What did you guys do!?"

The hissing squid puffs then surrounded Gaz and immediately advanced upon her. One attempted to jump at her but she swatted it to the ground and stomped on it. Another creature then grabbed onto her shoe and began gnawing on it, causing Gaz to panic and kick her foot against the chair, which thankfully squished and dislodged it. She barely turned around when two more latched onto her shirt and another three tried biting her legs.

Before the rest could advance, Zim used his laser cutters to zap the creatures off Gaz and stretched down to grab her, using his metal legs to lift them both up onto the chair.

Once she was safely beside him, Gaz looked around at the commotion before shooting Zim a glare. "I take ten minutes to compose myself and you let something like THIS happen?"

"Hey I had nothing to do with these vile things! Well, not directly anyways…"

"What do you mean not directly? Where did they come from? Ugh, and why do they smell like fish wrapped in cheese?"

"Um...would you believe that a defective cloner I built mixed the DNA of cybernetic squid monsters with GIR's pizza puffs and now they're trying to devour everything is sight?" Zim asked sheepishly.

Gaz looked at him in disbelief. "You mean to tell me, that you left a broken cloning device in a place where your idiot robot could get to it and now we're being attacked by alien pizza monsters?"

"Hey, I was fully intending to fix it! I was just, didn't have the time or proper tools or instructions and I...uh..." Zim noticed Gaz looking at him suspiciously and caved in. "Alright fine, I got frustrated and gave up on it! You try building a cloning device with inferior human kitchen equipment!"

There was a sudden lurch and the three felt as the chair lift slowly descended back down to the ground as the squid puffs finally succeeded in melting the metal part of the lift. The waiting squid puffs were now leaping into the air, trying to grab onto the melting cushions to climb back up. Before they could make it further down, Zim grabbed Gaz and GIR then used his metal legs to leap up to the ceiling, grabbing one of the hanging metal coils before the chair they stood on dissolved completely into a melted puddle of pizza cheese and ink.

"Noooooo! Not my chair! All my pudding was in there..." GIR said looking sadly down at the puddle.

"I don't understand!" Zim said, looking around at the chaos. "The computer should've alerted me to these creatures and done something to stop them! Computer! Where are you?!"

"I-wanb, sob, deek, ZOMBALABADONGDONG…!"

The computers voice was barely audible and cut in and out as it tried to communicate. The three then heard a loud groaning noise and felt a shudder from ceiling. They watched as several of the computers metal arms and wires collapsed from the mass of coils, having been either damaged or completely destroyed by the squid puffs that were still currently eating through them.

"What do we do now?" Gaz asked. "Don't you have anything around here that can destroy those things?"

"Yes, but my weapons are all down in the main control room. We'll have to go through the kitchen if we're to reach them as soon as possible. GIR! Activate you rockets!"

"Woohoo! Rocket man!" GIR cheered before jets flew out of his legs. Zim and Gaz then leaped onto GIR who flew them into the kitchen. Their eyes widened in shock as what lay before them was even worse than the living room.

The metal cloner was now going haywire and shooting out dozens of pizza puffs per minute, covering the entire kitchen floor with blobby masses of squid, dough and cheese. Almost all of the appliances were being devoured as the grotesque creatures slowly grew bigger the more they consumed. The only thing left partially intact was the toilet where the hidden lift remained. Using his lasers, Zim blasted the squid puffs off the large cabinet, which GIR landed on top of.

"We need to distract them so we have a clear path to lift." Zim explained. "GIR, since this whole thing is obviously your fault, you're going to be the bait. Lure the cheese filled cephalopods away and do whatever stupid thing you usually do to get attention."

"But, but...theys too scary! I don't wanna do it!" GIR said, folding his arms and turning away.

Zim growled. "GIR, if you don't help me get rid of these creatures, so help me I'm going to-"

"NOT buy you another pig toy!" Gaz interrupted. "I mean, come on. You can distract them for a measly five minutes if it's for a pig toy right?"

GIR looked up, as if intrigued. "Well...I dunno..."

Zim then had a thought and whispered it to Gaz. She looked at him with disapproval. "Are you crazy? I can't afford-"

They then felt a bang noise and looked down to see the squid puff attempting to eat the bottom cabinet and disintegrating the corners with their ink.

Gaz then turned to GIR "Fine! GIR if you help us survive this, I promise to buy you a hundred tacos."

GIR then immediately perked up and saluted. "I'LL DO EET! FOR THE TACOS!"

He then laughing maniacally and jumping headlong onto the middle of the kitchen, landing right on top of the melting table. "Hey puffs! How ya doing?"

The squid puffs stopped eating and turned their attention toward GIR, who took a bucket of fried chicken out of his head and held it up for them to see. "Who wants extra crunchy chicken wings?"

Immediately all the puffs jumped toward GIR and tried grabbing the bucket of chicken. GIR let out a scream and jumped off the table, running into the living room with the puffs in hot pursuit.

When it was mostly clear, Zim turned to Gaz. "We're going to have to go down separately since the lift is narrow. Tell me, how long since you came up here to...'do your business'?"

"Umm, about over two hours I think..." Gaz replied.

"I see. In that case, you're going first." Zim then grabbed Gaz around the waist and activated the rockets in his PAK. He they flew off the cabinet and toward the toilet, much to Gaz's horror.

"Wait! You're not going to- Zim I swear if you flush me down there I will-AHHHHHHH!!"

Zim then dropped her into the toilet bowl and pressed the handle as he flew by, causing her to disappear down its chute. Zim then flew around a bit and used his wrist the shoot the handle before diving into the toilet himself.

* * *

As Zim and Gaz made their decent, GIR ran circles around the living room screaming his head off with the squid puffs in hot pursuit. GIR then ran back into the kitchen and stood atop a chair, which proved fruitless as the puff quickly got to work on devouring and climbing it.

Panicking, GIR threw his bucket of partially eaten fried chicken across the room, hoping the puffs would chase after it instead of him. Unfortunately, the bucket landed on the counter and rolled onto its side, causing a piece of chicken to fall out into the open top of the cloner. The device powered up and let out a surge of energy. The squid puffs stopped pursuing GIR and turned to watch as the cloner let out sparks of electricity, some of which incinerated the surrounding puffs, causing the rest to retreat back behind furniture and inside crevices.

GIR then ran into the corner and watched in horror as a giant set of chicken feet along with feathered tentacles crawled out of the cloner. It lifted the device off the floor and rose up toward the ceiling till eventually a giant feather body emerged from within, which had the same beady eyes as the puffs and a long fang filled chicken beak. The thing let out a terrible screech and swallowed the cloner in one gulp before turning its attention on the puffs and devouring them one by one.

Taking advantage of the distraction, GIR fled into the living room and quickly pried up a partially melted end table, revealing the hidden lift beneath. As he jumped down the shaft toward the lower base, the giant chicken squid finished devouring the smaller pizza puffs in the kitchen and crawled into the living room in search of more food. It smashed open the closets, reveal the robot parents who looked blankly up at the revolting creature.

"Well hey little girl! You selling cookies?" Asked the robot dad before the creature seized him with its tentacles.

"Now that's not very nice!" Said the robot mom as she began poking its feathers. "Don't make me get out the punishment shovel!"

The squid seized her as well and devoured the robot parents in one gulp. It was about to make its way toward the front door when it noticed a trail of mayo covered footprints that lead to a gaping hole where the side table had been. Sniffing the chicken-scented mayo, the creature let out a shriek and began crawling its way into the shaft.


	8. Weapon Unlocked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim and Gaz gear up for the impending pizza puff hoard while Dib and GIR deal with an even bigger threat...

Chapter 8: Weapon Unlocked

"OOW! OUCH! YEOOUCH! Wait, what is this thing-AHHHHH! GET IT AWAY!"

Zim emerged screaming from out of the toilet chute, sliding across the floor of his base before bumping into a petrified Gaz. She was on her hands and knees, dripping wet, with a horrified look of disgust on her face. Ignoring her obvious discomfort, Zim grabbed onto her shoulder for support as he hoisted himself to his feet, looking over his similarly wet attire with equal disgust.

"Ugh, yuck!" Zim retched as he peeled a piece of wet toilet paper off his head and tossed it away. "Well…not one of my better escape plans but, GENIUS nonetheless! Another successful retreat concocted by the brilliant mind of ZIM!"

Gaz glared up at him, her left eye twitching angrily. "Zim I'm swear, if we get out of this alive, I'm going to-"

"Yes, yes, you can thank me later." Zim said brushing her off as he pulled to her feet. "Now come my disgruntled human sidekick! We must get to my secret weapon wall immediately!"

Zim pulled Gaz over toward what looked like a large empty book shelf and pressed his hand against a small, barely visible tile on the wall. He held it there for a few moments until it turned green, which caused the shelf to slowly sink into the ground.

"Time to arm ourselves against our squidy cheese-filled enemies!" Zim said in determination.

Gaz's look of annoyance quickly turned to surprise as she gazed upon a vast collection of humongous sized alien weaponry.

"Whoa…those blasters are huge!" Gaz exclaimed, looking upward at a blaster that was twice her height.

"Yes, it is most impressive isn't it?" Zim said smugly. "These glorious devices were gifted to me by a visiting alien race. No doubt they were impressed with my superior abilities and overall impressiveness, and left their vast supply of super-weapons in the capable hands of ZIM!"

"Super weapons huh?" Gaz suddenly looked curious. "If they're so super, how come you never used any of these to take over the world? Or at get rid of Dib? Seems like they would do the job quickly and efficiently enough."

Zim paused. "Well…you see I…uh...have been saving it! Yes, for, uh...special emergencies, where my brilliance alone is not enough to guarantee victory!"

"Uh huh." Gaz said, unconvinced. She then looked over one of the weapons, some of which had a dozen buttons and switches on the side and two different trigger buttons. "Is this a bazooka? Didn't think you aliens used these things...wait, you have actually used these before right?"

"Dah, I..ah-of course I have!" Zim said, suddenly looking nervous as he glanced at the many buttons and began pointing at random ones. "This button shoots, this one recharges, this one...does something, and this other one does the thingy or whatever it's called... you know the uh...uhhhh...SILENCE!"

"I didn't saying anything." Gaz stated.

"LIES! Enough with your questions, we are here to prepare for battle, not criticize my knowledge of my own weaponry!"

"I wasn't saying you couldn't handle your own weapons, I was-"

"Oh! So you're saying I don't know how to handle my own weapons! I'll show you!" Zim pushed past her and grabbed the bazooka off the wall, loading in some small missile like ammo before aiming at a nearby table, which had a small solidarity can of soda.

"Behold what an Irken elite can do!" Flicking the switch on, Zim launched the bazooka at the can, blasting it along with the table to smithereens.

Gaz arched an eyebrow at the destruction. "Well that was a bit overkill."

"An Invader never goes easy on an enemy. Letting your guard down is what leads to defeat." Zim explained smugly as he loaded more ammo into the bazooka. "I may not use my entire arsenal often, but I know how to use them when the time calls for it. As I said, there are many creatures out there who want to hurt Zim. But with my secret back-up weapons at my disposal, I can hurt them right back."

Zim then looked up and grabbed a smaller gun off the wall, tossing it to Gaz who caught it. "Here. You should practice your aiming with something smaller, given this technology is new to you. Hopefully when the time comes, you won't make the mistake of holding back or letting your humanly weaknesses get in the way of battle."

Gaz glared at Zim for a moment, her anger flaring up as she stared down at the small blaster. Her gaze then lingered on the pile of discarded cans in the corner and drifted back to the weapons wall which happened to contain a couple of grenades. Smirking, Gaz quickly grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin and threw it into the can pile.

"Hey! What are you-!" Zim exclaimed in panic.

The device exploded, causing all the cans to go flying through the air toward them. Zim lifted up his hands for cover, but Gaz used the blaster to quickly shoot multiple rounds at all the incoming cans. Once she was done, all the empty cans fell to the ground, nearly burned to a crisp and riddled with holes.

Zim looked down in shock at the burning, laser-ridden cans and then to Gaz, who blew smoke from off the tip of her blaster before twirling it and sticking it in her pocket.

"Okay...now THAT was overkill." Zim said, half annoyed and half impressed.

"Just wanted to see what sort of 'humanly weaknesses' you were talking about." Gaz said smugly. "After all, you are fighting alongside the best first-person shooter this crummy planet has to offer. Or do you need another demonstration?"

Zim smirked, then grabbed a much more powerful-looking blaster off the wall and handed it to Gaz, who looked excitedly upon the deadly-looking alien device and smiled confidently with Zim. Together, they both started loading up on weapons and ammo to prepare themselves for battle, unaware that they were being watched from the shadowy corners of the ceiling by three sets of beady red eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile out in the hall, Dib was busy trying to activate the lift so he could finally escape from Zim's base. Upon finding the elevation platform unresponsive, Dib had managed to pry open the control panel and was splicing wires together, trying to summon enough electricity to power up the lift. As the minutes went by and no progress was made, Dib was starting to worry that Zim and Gaz would be done with their game by the time he was able to escape.

"Come on you stupid lift. Work already!" Dib said as he continued to splice the wires from the open panel together, causing them to spark and light up briefly before again power down. "Agh! At this rate I'm never gonna…gonna…oh geez…"

Feeling a gagging in his throat, Dib covered his mouth and dropped the wires, turning away from the panel as he gasped for breathe, swallowing back the sickening sensation that kept resurfacing. Ever since swallowing those pizza puffs, Dib's stomach had been acting up, making him feel like he was going to be violently sick. So far he was able to keep the nausea down but wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it up, especially since whatever was making him sick seemed to be crawling further and further up his throat each time.

"Ack..no! No!" Dib gasped, swallowing back the sick. "Escape first! Puke my guts out later."

Suddenly, Dib heard a banging noise coming down the chute. Thinking the lift was finally working, Dib stood back in front of the door, eagerly waiting for them to open. When they didn't, Dib attempted to pry them open himself. He managed to get them apart a tiny bit before another pair of metal hands grabbed onto the doors, forcing them wide open. GIR then came bursting through the elevator doors and tackled Dib head on, causing them to tumble backwards over each other, resulting in Dib lying flat on his back. Rubbing his head, Dib looked up into the eyes of the frantic robot, who was kneeling on top of his bloated gut.

"You gotta help me Mary!" GIR pleaded, grabbing Dib's jacket firmly. "A big giant chicken wing's comin to get me!"

"Ugh! Get off me you stupid robot!" Dib cried out as he knocked GIR off, clutched his achy stomach as he rolled over back onto his feet. He then noticed the elevator door was still wide open and made a run for it when GIR stood in his way.

"Don't go in there! The big ol chicken monster's coming and is gonna eated us all up, like hot dogs and tarter sauce!" GIR exclaimed as he tried blocking Dib's way.

"That's ridiculous! There's no such thing as giant chicken monsters. Trust me, I know." Dib said with a hint of annoyance. "Now get out of my way!"

Before he could get around GIR, there was a louder banging noise and Dib looked over to see what appeared to be feathered tentacles emerge from between the doors, followed by a large chicken head with a razor sharp beak and red beady eyes. The thing locked eyes with them and let out a loud squawk.

"What on Earth?" Dib cried out as GIR let out a scream and hid behind the human boy.

They looked on in horror as the mutant chicken squid pizza monster attempt to squeeze its way through the door. Backing away quickly, Dib and GIR ran screaming down the hall as the creature finally forced its way through and began chasing after them.

* * *

After rummaging through the armor, Gaz emerged wearing a laser proof vest, along with a body-length ammo belt and a matching helmet with tinted visor. She had finished browsing through the blasters, picking out two large hand guns before putting a couple more smaller ones on her second ammo belt and then finally grabbing the very large artillery style blaster Zim handed her.

Meanwhile, Zim had finished suiting up by strapping on arm and leg enhancements and readying his bazooka which he activated with a flick of a switch. He then wrapped himself up in straps of ammo, extra blasters and completed his look with an Irken solider helmet.

As Gaz finished powering up her blasters, she noticed an oddly shaped gun on display in the corner of the wall. It had a slim yet wide shaped barrel, almost similar to a sheath, had a trigger that resembled that of a shotgun and was covered with weird alien markings that looked like a warning sign.

She then carefully picked it up and held it toward Zim. "Hey what's this thing?"

Zim was tightening his gloves and glanced casually in the weapon in her hands. "Oh that? Just some prototype I've been working on. I wouldn't touch it if I were you, it hasn't been successfully tested yet. If activated the wrong way, it can result in you losing your limbs. Just ask GIR, he's already been through twelve."

Gaz looked wearily at the strange weapon and gently placed it back down on its display. Suddenly she heard a noise behind her and turned to see a chair fall to the ground. She looked around but didn't see anything near the chair that caused it to fall. She then noticed movement out the corner of her eye and turned her head to look but saw nothing. She then heard what sounded like scurrying legs behind her and turned again, but still saw nothing. That's when she realized something was out of place.

"Hey Zim…where's Dib? And that moose pet of yours?"

"What kind of a stupid question is that? Mini-Moose is watching Dib who's right over…"

Zim paused as he looked over to the wall only to see the robot arm hanging limply from the ceiling and Dib nowhere in sight.

"Oh great! Now I have to worry about recapturing the big headed spoot-face too?" Zim exclaimed. "Argh, that worthless moose! Where is he? Mini-Moose!"

Zim looked around and waited to hear the familiar squeak but was met with only silence.

"Mini-Moose! Your master commands you to come forth! Obey me!" Zim waited but again was met with silence.

He looked around in confusion. "That's odd. Usually when I call, he comes immediat...ly..." As Zim looked down, he suddenly noticing a trail of melted cheese on the floor that stretched all the way to the snack bar, which was covered in cheese yet contained nothing else.

"Umm…wasn't that table full of food before?" Zim asked, pointing uneasily at the tables.

"Whoa...how'd we not notice that before?" Gaz asked, looking at the empty table before walking over to investigate. All of the pizza, chips, and even the serving plates and bowls from before were gone. Aside from a few crumbs and cheese residue, not a scrap of food remained.

"Well one thing's for sure. Whoever did this was definitely hungry…ugh, and needs a bath." Gaz said, flinching at smell of the burning cheese.

"Do you think Dib or Mini-Moose had something to do with it?" Zim asked.

Gaz glanced back and noticed one of the tables looked as if a chunk had been ripped out it. She also noticed that the piles of game cartridges lying around were considerably smaller and partially melted, with a few of them sporting teeth marks.

"If they did, then they were more ravenous then we thought." Gaz leaned over to look under one of the tables and spotted two cases of Fizzy Poop and Power Burst, both of which looked to be untouched. "But apparently not thirsty enough."

As she continued to look under the tables, a dark shadow appeared overhead with glowing red eyes. Zim's antenna perked up as he heard a low hissing noise and looked up in horror.

"AHHH! LOOK OUT!"

Gaz looked up and gasped as a large mass jumped down on the table above her and roared, thrusting its tentacles forward as it tried grabbing her. Luckily she was able to duck out of the way and rolled out from the other side of the table before racing back to Zim who held his bazooka at the ready.

"What is that hideous thing!?" Zim exclaimed.

Both of them looked upon the grotesquely large creature as it leaped off the table and into the light. It appeared to be a pizza puff squid, only it was ten times bigger than the ones upstairs, had twice as many tentacles and eyes and had a set of antlers sticking out of its head. It flailed his cheesy doughy tentacles threateningly and lashed out its tongue, which was covered in more tentacles.

"It looks like one of those pizza squid monsters...with moose antlers?" Gaz tilted her head as she looked at the strange appendage.

The thing let out a terrible belch, spewing bits of smoldering food wrappers out of its mouth, causing Gaz and Zim to quickly back away.

"Ugh that's disgusting!" Zim said recoiling from the cheesy spit-covered pizza box it coughed up.

"Then let's destroy it before spews any more garbage at us!" Gaz said, flicking the switch on her blaster and aiming it toward the creature. Zim did the same, activating his armor and lifting up his bazooka. The creature let out another roar and leaped toward them as Gaz and Zim unleashed a barrage of laser and missiles upon it.

* * *

Back in the hall, Dib and GIR had run into the room full of glass tubes looking for a place to hide. With the giant chicken squid slowly catching up, GIR grabbed Dib and quickly dragged him around a corner, pulling him under a control panel just as the creature caught up. The chicken squid looked around, baring its teeth-covered beak menacingly as it passed by their hiding spot before stopping in front of a tube that contained an unnaturally happy-looking kid floating inside.

"Hi big giant birdy thing!" The kid said, the corners of his stretched out smile trembling under the strain. "I'm so happy to see you! I'd be even happier if you let me out of here!"

The creature squawked then smashed its tentacle against the glass until it broke through, pulling the kid out and hanging him upside down by his leg.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! You made me so happy! I could just die-IIIIEEEEE!" The kid hardly finished his sentence as the squid tossed him into the air and into its open mouth.

Both Dib and GIR let out horrified gasps and retreated further into their hiding spot as the creature swallowed the boy and continued to search around the base.

"Oh this is not good. Not good, not good!" Dib muttered silently in terror.

"What's we gonna do? Come on big head boy, use your big head brains!" GIR pleaded.

Wracking his mind, Dib looked around at the tubes and thought of a plan.

"I have an idea! Let's trap it!" Dib explained. "Make the monster chase you into one of the glass tubes and I'll slam the door behind it, locking it in!"

"Woohoo! I like this plan!" GIR agreed before pausing, looking at Dib with concern. "But won't I gets trapped too?"

"Uhh…no! Of course not!" Dib said quickly. "Because…I'll let you out before I lock it!"

"Woohoo! I like this plan!" GIR cheered and then crawled out from under the control panel, shouting at the monster as it made it way across the room. "Hey giant chicken squid! You smells like a bus station!"

The creature turned and let out a squawk as it ran after GIR, who quickly raced ahead and began running circles around the lab. Dib took advantage of the distraction and ran over to one of the larger glass tubes. With some effort he turned the large hatch and opened the metal door, pulling it wide open and making sure to hide behind it as GIR came racing back down the hall. Both the robot and the creature lunged into the open tube, causing the creature to smack its head against the glass walls and become disoriented. Dib quickly closed the door and sealed it shut before either could get out.

He was about to walk away when GIR pressed his face up against the glass. "Hey! I helped you catch the chicken thing. Can I gets out now?"

Dib looked uncertainly back at the robot. "Umm yeah…about that…"

The creature then shook its head and towered menacingly over GIR, who looked back with a nervous smile.

"Uhhh..." GIR then paused and took a drumstick out of his head. "Want some chicken?"

Whipping its feathered tentacles forward, the chicken squid seized GIR and lifted the screaming robot above its head. Dib watched uneasily as the creature dropped the robot into its open beak and attempted to chew it.

GIR then popped his head out of the corner of the creature's mouth, giggling out loud. "Heehee! Getting eated tickles!"

The creature then attempted to shove GIR back down its throat with its tentacles and started gagging. Dib then watched as GIR reemerged from the creature's gullet, cackling and holding on to what appeared to be a large metal cooking pot which was emitting sparks of electricity.

"What is that thing?" Dib wondered curiously.

"Woohoo! I found a Christmas present!" GIR exclaimed, riding the device like a mechanical bull.

Finally with one big gulp, the chicken squid closed its beak and swallowed GIR back down for good, along with the meal device. After shaking its head and coughing up some metal bolts, it turned its attention toward Dib and began pounding on the glass wall. Seeing his cue to escape, Dib turned and ran back down the hallway, unaware that the glass tube was slowly beginning to crack.

* * *

Back inside the control room, Zim and Gaz were running around blasting at the antlered pizza squid which jumped, scurried and climbed its way across the room, spitting acidic pizza cheese at them. Although their shots managed to hit and injure the pizza squid, it did little to stop the creatures rampage as its cheesy dough-like skin kept reforming, healing whatever injury it sustained. It got to the point where Zim had used up all the ammo for his bazooka trying to shoot the creature in the mouth, hoping he could blow it up from the inside.

"Bah, it's no use! That thing is too fast and too reformy!" Zim cried out as he shook the empty bazooka before throwing it at the creatures head, causing it to shriek. "Take that you foul stink creature!"

The pizza squid shook its head, snarled, then lunged at Zim who screamed in surprise. It grabbed onto his ammo belts and started repeatedly slamming the Irken against the hard ground.

"AHH!! AGH! OOF! AH!" Zim screamed as he was bashed into the ground. "Gaz! Shoot it! Shoot it now!"

Gaz, who was firing her third back-up blaster from behind an overturned table, aimed at the creature and shot through the tentacle holding Zim, blasting it clean off. The creature shrieked as it flailed around in pain while Zim fell to the ground. He quickly slid out of his ammo belts and scurried away, trying to avoid the leaking cheese and ink that was spewing everywhere. Once the creature reformed its severed tentacle, it started chasing after Zim.

"Quick! Throw me your weapons!" Zim shouted as he ran across the room.

Gaz tossed two of her handguns to Zim, who caught them as he slid across the floor and shot backwards at the creature, finally hitting it in the mouth. It let out a howl as its tongue sizzled painfully, shook its head and jumped up towards the ceiling, grabbing onto a metal coil before climbing up and disappearing among the wires. Zim quickly joined Gaz behind the table and both looked at the ceiling, trying to spot the creature among the mass of darkness and coils.

"Do you think it's dead?" Zim asked somewhat hopefully. "Perhaps I managed to vaporize its insides!"

"I doubt that." Gaz said, holding her blaster at the ready. "Over there! Shoot!"

Quickly, Gaz and Zim began firing at a corner of the ceiling where there was slight movement. They fired until their ammo was depleted and retreated back behind the table to reload.

"Man, for a bunch of super-weapons, these things run out of power quickly." Gaz said as she recharged her blaster and grabbed a new one out of her pocket which she handed to Zim. "Here, get ready to start shooting again."

"What's the point!?" Zim exclaimed, tossing down his empty blaster. "That creature's just gonna keep reforming until we completely burn through all our weapons! Face it, there's no way to defeat that thing! Our moose is cooked!"

"I think you mean our 'goose' is..." Gaz was about to finish her sentence when something made her stop.

Zim looked at her curiously at the odd look of revelation on her face. "Is what? At least finish your thought before we're devoured by that filthy cheese beast."

Gaz then looked out from over the table in the direction of the furnace, which was still burning from earlier with its doors still opening and closing.

"Cooked...that's it! We'll lure it into the furnace! It can't reform if it's melting into a puddle!" Gaz said excitedly.

Zim looked blankly at Gaz. "I fail to see how this correlates with a goose and cooking it-WAIT A MOMENT! We can lure the creature into the flames and burn it to a fiery crisp! It's so genius! I'm a genius!"

Gaz scowled and shoved a blaster back into Zim's hand. "Just shut up and cover me. We need to lure that thing over to the furnace and shove it in before it realizes what we're doing." She then went to aim up the creature again but saw no sign of movement. "Wait…where'd it go?"

Looking around, Gaz cautiously emerged from behind the table with her blaster pointed upwards. Zim followed suite and the two walked side by side, carefully keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Suddenly there was a creaking noise followed by the collapse of a pipe which looked to have been corroded from the creature's cheesey spit. As Zim and Gaz looked at the broken pipe, Gaz felt something touch her and looked down to see a tentacle wrapping itself around her ankle. Before she could shoot it, the thing pulled her foot out from under her, causing Gaz to drop her weapon and be dragged across the room toward a cloth covered table.

"ZIM!" Gaz called out.

Zim let out a gasp and summoned his metal legs to quickly chase after her, grabbing her hand before the squid could pull her any further. Gaz tried reaching for one of her blasters but the creature was pulling so hard, it forced her to hold onto Zim with both hands.

"Let her go you filthy pus ball!" Zim shouted, keeping his grip on Gaz as his metal limbs dug into the floor, pulling her backwards along with the pizza squid. The creature then emerged from under the tablecloth, its mouth wide open as its tongue was stretched out across the room holding onto Gaz. It let out a roar as it tightened its hold and began dragging itself forward, getting its large mouth closer and closer to Gaz's legs. Panicking, Gaz used her other foot to kick at the creatures tongue, which proved pointless as it soon got stuck on the gooey cheese spit.

"Do something!" Gaz shouted at Zim, the creature being one foot away from chomping on her.

Thinking quickly, Zim summoned the laser cutters from his PAK and shot the pizza squid right in the eyes and tongue. The creature shrieked and released its hold on Gaz, flailing around its severed tentacle-like tongue, which spewed pizza cheese everywhere. It then stumbled around and fell back into the nearby wall of game cartridges, which toppled over onto the creature, burying it. Unfortunately, the crash also caused the weapons display to shake, dislodging all the blasters and causing some of them to shoot off upon hitting the floor and its lasers to bounce around the room.

Zim had just finished helping Gaz on her feet when the stray lasers beams came zooming toward them. One of the lasers was about to hit Gaz when Zim quickly shoved her away, causing her to fall back onto the ground. She looked up just as one of the lasers hit Zim right in his leg enhancer, causing him to scream while another laser sliced through two of his metal legs.

"Zim!" Gaz exclaimed as she watched Zim lose his balance and stumbled to the ground, holding his leg. Crawling quickly racing to his side, Gaz helped Zim undo his leg enhancer, which was emitting sparks and smoke from the laser blast. Once they got them off, Gaz noticed a painful looking burn mark on Zim's knee, which was also oozing what she assumed was blood.

Suddenly there was a loud screeching noise, followed by the creature emerging from under the game cartridges. Having reformed its eyes and severed tongue, it roared loudly in irritation and turned its attention toward Zim and Gaz.

Gaz looked back in a panic and aimed her weapon at the creature. Unfortunately, it clicked uselessly when she tried to fire it, as she hadn't had time to recharge it.

"I'm out of weapons! We need to move now! Do you think you can you walk?"

"Of course I can!" Zim shouted as he tried standing back up. "It's a just a burn mark. Nothing to-OH SWEET SLATHERING MESABOB!" Upon trying to put weight on his leg, Zim collapsed back to the floor clutching his leg in pain. "Man that hurts like a blorch!"

Gaz quickly grabbed Zim's arm and draped it over her shoulder, lifting him back to his feet as he leaned on her for support. "Come on, we gotta get away from that thing. Isn't there an escape pod around here or something we can use to leave?"

"Forget the escape pods! I am not allowing these things to devour my base!" Zim said, taking his arm off her as he tried balancing on one leg. "We stick with the plan! I'll go lead that giant cheese ball toward the furnace and keep the cover from closing. You go find a working weapon and at the first opportunity, use it to blast that thing into the flames! Now go!"

Before she could respond, Zim hopped off on his one good leg and began waving his hands frantically. "Hey! Squid-smelly! Over here!" Zim yelled out before attempted to lure the creature away from Gaz, limping painfully as it continued to chase him down.

Wasting no time, Gaz quickly ran over to the weapons display and began searching for a usable blaster. Unfortunately a lot of them were partially melted from the creatures acidic cheese spit while the ones on the floor had malfunctioned or broken upon landing . The only weapon left that hadn't been dislodged or melted was the oddly shaped blaster she picked up before, the one that hadn't been properly tested. Seeing no alternative, Gaz grabbed the blaster and raced toward the creature, holding it far out in front of her before flicking the button on the side, hoping desperately that she was aiming it in the right direction.

Zim gritted his teeth as he continued to limp away from the creature which was getting closer to him by the second. He finally reached the furnace and used all his strength to pry open the cover. The creature spit at him again, causing Zim to stumble backwards to the ground. Unable to walk or run, Zim activated his metal legs in a last ditch effort to carry himself to safety. Unfortunately, the two severed metal legs caused him to become off-balanced and he fell over again, landing painfully on his side. Zim looked up in terror as the creature loomed over him and opened its mouth wide, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth as it let out a terrible roar. Fearing it was the end, Zim raised his arms to shield himself as the creature descended upon him.

Suddenly the creature froze as a pointed flame burst out from within its mouth, causing the creature to let out a horrible gargled screech. Zim looked up and was shocked to see Gaz standing behind the pizza squid, impaling the creature through its head with a flame covered sword that emerged from the oddly shaped blaster she was holding.

Gaz looked on in amazement at the weapon she now wielded and grinned. Using both hands to tighten her grip, she drove the flame sword deeper into the creature and dragged it toward the open door of the furnace. Using all her strength, Gaz lifted the creature upwards and kicked it off the sword, straight into the open flames of the furnace. She quickly closed it, listening as the creature let out a gurgled cry and flailed its tentacles through the vents before quickly melting into puddles of burnt cheese.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Gaz deactivated the flame sword and raced toward Zim looking concerned. "You alright?"

"Yes...nothing a little…healing jelly won't cure." Zim said as she helped him sit up. He then took out the tube of pain-relief cream and slathered it on his knee and shoulder, gritting his teeth as he rubbed it in while Gaz kept him steady.

"You know that's not how the cream...works..." Gaz paused when she noticed his wound had surprisingly starting to close up, causing Zim to sigh in relief.

Gaz smirked. "But who can argue with results?" She then tore off a piece of her ripped sleeve and used it to bandage Zim's leg, much to his relief and appreciation.

"Hey...so...thanks for stopping that creature from eating me back there. I could've destroyed it of course if I had a weapon...but I suppose...it's nice to know I have a competent marksmen watching my back." Zim said, trying not to be overly grateful.

"Um, you're welcome...I guess." Gaz said, confused by the compliment. "Anyways, it was the least I could do since you took that laser blast for me. And acted as decoy while hopping on one leg. Seriously, you're a lot tougher then you look."

"Yeah well, so are you...for a human anyways." Zim admitted somewhat reluctantly. "At least you came out more unscathed then I did."

Gaz looked from Zim's wound, which was quickly healing, to his severed metal legs which had exposed wiring and was letting out random sparks. "A shame what happened to your metal legs."

Zim shrugged. "Eh, it's repairable. Could've been much worse if you hadn't stepped in…not that I couldn't have handled it, of course." Zim cleared his throat. "So, where'd you get that strange fire weapon anyways?"

"Umm, your weapon wall? It's the one you said wasn't properly tested." Gaz said holding up the blaster and pressing the button again. This time it shot a flaming sword out of its barrel which flew through the air and embedded itself on the wall, much to Gaz and Zim's surprise.

"Well what do you know! You fixed it!" Zim said excitedly.

"Fixed what?" Gaz asked as she carefully set the weapon down away from her.

"I designed that gun to shoot swords instead of lasers but they kept getting stuck in the barrel. But it seems you managed to dislodge them! Great job comrade!"

Gaz looked at Zim in confusion. "You designed a gun that shoots flaming swords?"

Zim paused. "Actually, the swords weren't supposed to be on fire. That part is new."

Just then they both heard a banging noise coming from the furnace. Picking the blaster sword back up, Gaz stood in front of Zim ready to fight when the furnace door flew open and spewed a large gooey blob of melted cheese. Gaz took a cautious step forward and jumped back when she heard a faint gargled squeak. She and Zim watched as Mini-Moose emerging from the melting pile of cheese, covered in grease while looking sickly and disoriented.

"Mini-Moose? What were you doing inside that squid monster?" Zim asked.

"Nya…nyah…nahhh…" Mini-Moose stumbled about woozily before landed on its side and coughing up a small piece of pepperoni.

"How'd it survive getting eaten and burned?" Gaz asked curiously.

"Mini-Moose is built to withstand all sorts of extremities." Zim explained. "The monster must've gained its endurance through ingesting him."

Mini-Moose then let out a loud burp which dislodged a chicken wing from its throat. Attached to the wing bone was a small pizza puff squid which rose up and hissed at the two.

"Ugh. Not this again." Gaz said in disgust as she activated the sword blaster. "At least this time it's small."

She then held up the flaming sword and aimed it the tiny snarly creature. She was about to destroy it when suddenly there was a loud banging on the nearby door.

"Let me in! Please! For the good of the Earth, let me in!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Gaz and Zim looked briefly at each other and back at the squid puff which had managed to crawl away. Growling in annoyance, Gaz deactivated her blaster sword, stomped over to the door and pressed the panel. The doors open, allowing a hysterical Dib to stumble into the room.

"Oh thank you! Thank you, thank you!" Dib said as he catching his breath. "Gaz, you won't believe this but there's a giant- BEH! BLAGH!"

Gaz had seized Dib by the throat and was now holding him upward, an angry look on her face as she stared her brother down. "I thought I told you not to leave this room! How hard is it to follow simple orders!?"

"Gaz!...Can't….breathe!..." Dib choked out. Gaz then released him causing him to stumble onto his knees as he gasped for air.

"Thanks to you, there's a mutant pizza squid monster loose in this room that'll try to eat us if we let it get too large!" Gaz yelled at him.

"Way to go Dib!" Zim said joining her side. "Leave it up to your big head to- wait a minute…how come you're still here? I thought you would've tried to escape the base by now."

"That's…what I was trying…to tell you." Dib said breathing heavily as he massaged his throat. "There's a giant...chicken squid monster running around the base that's...eating everything in sight! It chased me down the halls as I was trying to escape. Luckily, your robot nobly sacrificed itself so I could try and warn you all! Now where do you keep your escape pods?"

"It's got GIR!?" Zim exclaimed in horror. "Noooooo! Not GIR! My poor, poor…wait, noble sacrifice? My dysfunctional SIR unite sacrificed itself to save a lowly human…without the promise of tacos!?"

"Well…yeah! I mean, uh…" Dib began rubbing the back of his neck nervously as Zim glared at him. "See he did lure the creature away so I could escape but he…kinda got trapped in the process… and was eaten…I would've saved him but, it just didn't work out that way. Still, it's the gesture that counts right?"

Zim narrowed his eyes angrily at Dib. "You got my robot devoured just to save your own worthless sack of meat and organ sploosh? This is all your fault!"

"I just said it was." Dib confessed before Zim punched him and tackled him to the ground. The two then rolled around, attempting to punch, kick and claw at each other.

"Knock it off you two!" Gaz said as she stood over them. "Save the savage beatings until after we defeat the monsters!"

She then pried Zim off Dib but not before Zim gave a good kick into Dib's bloated gut. Dib let out a painful gasp and rolled over to his side clutching his stomach. As Gaz continued to hold Zim back, Dib crawled onto his knees as the nauseous sickness from before came back full force. He tried breathing deeply and covering his mouth but couldn't hold back and projectile vomited onto the floor.

"Ugh that's disgusting!" Zim exclaimed jumped back along with Gaz who looked equally revolted. Dib's body shuddered as he vomited again and again in sporadic bursts. Gaz then noticed black substance among his vomit and saw a growing amount of semi-chewed pizza puffs. Suddenly all the creatures sprang to life, growing new tentacles and beady eyes as they hissed and began scuttling out of the vomit.

"Oh great! More pests!" Gaz cried out as she and Zim back away from the newly formed creatures. "What else could go wrong?"

They then heard a squeaking noise and looked over toward Mini-Moose, who still laid on his side looking sickly. His face then turned a dark green and he too projectile vomited onto the floor, which also resulted in a pile of half-chewed pizza puffs that also sprouted tentacles and started crawling around the room.

"Oh come on!" Both Zim and Gaz exclaimed as Dib and Mini-Moose continued to barf up more pizza puffs. It wasn't long before the room was crawling with barfed up squid puffs which quickly got to work on devouring the game cartridges that were piled around, causing them to grow, reform and gain strength.

Knowing what they had to do, Zim grabbed a blaster from off the ground and activated it before handing Gaz her blaster sword. "Shall we get started?"

Gaz took the blaster sword and nodded. "Lets."


	9. The Boss Level

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim and Gaz figure out how to defeat the squid puffs and attempt to take on the giant chicken squid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I added my own bits of lore for the sake of the story. Hopefully it fits without being too unbelievable.

Chapter 9: The Boss Level

_One big action scene later..._

Dib fell onto his hands and knees, his body heaving and his mouth dripping with vomit as he gasped for air.

"Ugh, gah!...okay...I think I'm done...I think I….nope-BLAAARGGGHH!"

Dib then projectile vomited onto the floor once more, sobbing between hurls. "Make it stoppp!"

From across the room, Mini-Moose was also gurgling loudly while leaning on its side. It then turned a sickly shade of yellow and also projectile vomited onto the floor. From their piles of puke, several squid puffs emerged and began scuttling away, only to be cut down by Gaz who stabbed them with her flame sword.

"Will you both knock it off already?" Gaz called out to them as she shook the cheese off her blade. "At least wait until we finish destroying the last batch!"

Zim and Gaz had spent nearly an hour fighting against the growing number of attacking squid puffs that kept emerging from Dib and Mini-Moose's combined bursts of vomit. Luckily after much trial and error, the two had developed a system where Zim would blast the creatures away from the doors and vents to keep them contained while Gaz used her flame sword to slice through the puffs and toss them into the furnace. Despite being a lot easier to destroy then the giant squid puff, the creatures were still multiplying faster than the two could destroy them, as both Dib and Mini-Moose continued to vomit non-stop. Things started to go downhill fast when the furnace broke down, its fires having been put out by the overflowing abundance of melting cheese. It got even worse when Zim's weapon began to overheat, causing it to malfunction and allow some of the puffs to hide in crevices around the room.

"Argh, this is useless!" Zim said, smacking his fist against the blaster to get it working again. "At this rate we'll be up to our eyeballs in squid goo if we don't find a way to defeat these things!"

"I'm open to suggestions if you have any!" Gaz said as she sliced through a couple more squid puffs as they were crawling up the walls. One got away and quickly crawled toward Zim who was still focusing on his blaster.

"Behind you!" Gaz pointed out.

Zim turned to see a squid puffs launch itself into the air at him. Zim ducked out of the way and quickly summoned a laser from his PAK, zapping the creature which let out a shriek and fell smoldering to the ground. He turned to look up at Gaz who was slicing through the multiplying puffs and hadn't noticed one crawling up her dress.

"To your right!" Zim called out. Gaz looked down toward her right leg and swatted off the pizza squid which landed on her shoe. She kicked the creature up into the air before quickly spinning around, using her blaster sword to slice the creature neatly in two. Zim watched admirably, impressed by her flair and mastery over her new weapon.

However he quickly snapped out of it when he heard more sounds of vomiting followed by a new wave of squid puffs. He also noticed some of the creatures trying to reform and knew it wouldn't be long before they were overwhelmed again. Thinking quickly, Zim grabbed Gaz by the hand and pulled her towards the nearest table.

"What are you doing?" Gaz asked as Zim began climbing up onto the table.

"There's another wave coming. We need to get to higher ground so they don't sneak up on us." Zim said. Gaz paused then nodded in approval. The two then stood on top of the table with their weapons at the ready. The new wave quickly crawled their way forward and began trying to climb up the table. Using her flame sword, Gaz sliced through all the creatures that were climbing up while Zim picked off the ones further way with his newly charged blaster. At first their strategy was effective, that is until Dib and Mini-Moose unleashed another dual wave of vomit, creating even more squid puffs. On top of that, the ones they did destroy kept multiplying or reforming. Before either of them knew it, dozens upon dozens of puffs had trapped them and were quickly starting to eat through the table legs, causing it to wobble and lean off center.

"There's too many of them to destroy!" Gaz exclaimed, as she sliced through another puff, quickly kneeling down so she would lose balance. "There had to be a way to stop them from multiplying!"

Zim tried wracking his brain as he smacked a couple more puffs off the table with his overheated blaster. "Those things are part pizza and part squid. If we can find a way to weaken at least one of their bio structures, we can prevent them from reforming and make them vulnerable to attack!"

"And how exactly do we do-"

Suddenly there was a violent lurch as one of the table legs finally gave in. Gaz dropped her sword and grabbed to edge to keep herself from falling. Just then a squid puff that had been crawling up the edge, leaped up and latched onto Gaz's face. She raised her hands up trying to pry it off and ended up falling off the table into the crowd of attacking squid puffs.

"Gaz! Hang on! I'm - AHHHH one's got my leg!" Zim cried out as another squid creature latched onto his leg and began biting him, causing Zim to strike it with blaster as well as stumble off the table to the floor. Quickly the squid monsters began advancing upon the two, grabbing and snapping at their limbs and chewing on their clothes as they struggled to get free.

Flailing around in panic, Gaz looked frantically around for something to strike the creatures with. Suddenly she felt something heavy fall out of her pocket and looked down to see the can of soda she pocketed earlier. Grabbing it, she smashed the can repeatedly against the squid puffs that was attacking her face. At first it had no effect but the force of the hit caused the can to rupture and spray soda all over herself and the surrounding creatures. The squid puff on her head let out a high pitched screech and finally released its grip on Gaz's face, tumbling to the ground as it flailed about in pain. The rest of the attacking squid puffs let out similar screams as their cheesy skins sizzled and dissolved, causing most of them to melt away into puddles.

Gaz wipe away the cheese from her face and looked curiously at the melting squid puffs around her as well as the solid ones, who were now scuttling away from the wet soda covered floor. She then looked at the punctured soda can and at Zim, who was still struggling with the puffs as they attempted to gnaw his limbs off. Quickly she raced over and shook up the can, spraying soda onto the creatures which let out a collection of horrible screeches before releasing their hold on Zim. They attempted to crawl away but like the others, they dissolved into puddles.

Zim flinched as the soda touched his skin and quickly rolled away from the spray zone. Wiping the soda and melted cheese from his face, he looked down at the wailing, melting puffs in confusion. "What's happened to them?"

As Gaz watched the creature disintegrate, she looked at the soda can and came to a realization. "That's it! This is how we'll beat them! It's like you said, the squid puffs are partially made up of pizza, meaning they're also made of dough which contains yeast. The only thing that can dissolve yeast is sugar, and these energy drinks are loaded with them!"

Zim's eye's widened in understanding. "That explains why the larger squid puff ate everything except for the beverage containers." He then looked under the table where the still untouched cases of energy drinks remained and grinned as an idea formed in his head. "I have an idea. Cover me!"

Handing her his blaster, Zim jumped to his feet and ran through the barrage of remaining squid puffs. While Gaz was busy shooting at the puffs around him, Zim was able to find and grab his empty bazooka off the floor before racing back to the table where Gaz was. He then ripped opened the soda boxes, grabbed the cans and inserted a bunch into the ammo opening in the bazooka.

"Shake up a can and follow my lead!" Zim called out as he aimed his bazooka.

Putting down the blaster, Gaz reached into the case and grabbed a can of Power Burst, shaking it vigorously before standing at the ready beside Zim.

"Ready, aim, SPRAY!" Zim called out as he launched a can of Power Burst into the crowd of squid puffs, which zoomed over their heads at break neck speed before exploding, dousing them in soda and slowly melting them away. He started shooting them all over the base, drawing out any hiding squid puffs and melting them before they could run. Gaz meanwhile shook up her can and began spraying any squid puff that came close to them. It wasn't long before all the squid puffs had melted into several piles of mush, covering the ground in melted cheese. Just as they were about to relax, Zim and Gaz heard a gagging noise and turned to see Dib trying to hold back what was surely another wave of vomit.

"Quick! Feed the sugary beverage to Dib!" Zim commanded.

Grabbing a new can, Gaz raced over to her brother who looked like he was about to throw up a new batch. Quickly she opened the can, shoved it into his mouth and tilted his head back as she made him chug the entire thing. Zim did the same with Mini-Moose who also looked on the verge of vomiting. Both just barely managed to swallow entire contents of the canned drink, before pausing and letting out enormous belches which shook the base, cracking the glass on a few monitors.

Dib let out a gasp of relief. "Wow! That feels…better…ugh… I need to lie down for a sec…." He then fell back the ground, landing face-first into a puddle of his own barf. Mini-Moose meanwhile regained his natural color and instantly perked up, squeaking happily in relief as he floated back into the air and nuzzled against both Zim and Gaz in gratitude.

"Yes! Victory! Victory for Zim! Take that you gooey, stink-filled cheese monsters!" Zim declared as squashed a remaining squid puff beneath his boot.

Gaz deactivated her sword and walked over to Zim as he continued to repeatedly stomp on the melted puffs with glee. Seeing how happy he was at having destroyed his adversaries for once, she couldn't help but smirk at his enthusiasm.

"Hey Zim." Gaz said putting a hand on his shoulder so he'd stop stomping for a moment. "I just want to say, well…great job with destroying those squid puffs. I gotta admit, that was pretty smart how you used the bazooka to shoot the cans."

Zim paused at the compliment. "You think so?…dah I mean- of course you think so! I am Zim! Zim is always amazing and clever!" He said pompously striking a pose until he noticed Gaz arching her eyebrow at him in annoyance. "Although…I suppose I…wouldn't have thought of it had you not figured out the puffs weaknesses. There is much smartness in that fleshy hair-filled head of yours Gaz human. Almost as much as Zim."

Knowing it was the best compliment his ego would allow him to give, Gaz actually smiled at Zim and lightly punched his arm. Zim flinched, rubbed his tender arm as he glared back at Gaz. However, seeing the appreciative and somewhat affectionate look on her face, Zim couldn't help but blush.

Just then there was a bang at the door. It was followed by another bang, then an even louder bang then before.

"What the heck?" Gaz asked as she watched some noticeable dings appear on the metal door.

"It must be the puffs from upstairs." Zim assumed. "They probably tracked the scent of their comrades down to us. Quickly, ready the sugary liquid projectiles."

Gaz then opened another case and took out a can of Powerburst while Zim reloaded his bazooka. Meanwhile, Dib had woken to the sounds of the banging and wiped all the crud chunks off his face.

"Huh…wha? What's going on? What's that racket?"

Zim and Gaz walked past Dib, ignoring him as they stood before the door, their weapons and soda cans at the ready while Mini-Moose floated happily alongside them.

"Alright! As soon as Mini-Moose opens those doors, we launch a barrage of attacks and disintegrate those puffs before they have a chance to fight back. Does that sound agreeable?"

"Sounds good to me." Gaz said, activating her blaster sword.

"On my command Mini-Moose, open the doors." Zim ordered his moose sidekick, who squeaked in response and floated over to the control panel. Dib watched curiously, and then quickly gave into panic when he saw some feathers start to emerge from between the doors.

Zim held his bazooka at the ready. "Alright then, on three! One…two…"

"Stop!" Dib shouted. "Don't open the-"

"THREE!"

Mini-Moose then tapped the control panel, causing the doors to open. Immediately, the giant chicken squid's beak burst through and let out a loud squawk.

Gaz and Zim quickly back away in fear as they looked at the huge monstrosity. "What in the name of Irk is that thing!?"

"I told you not to open the door!" Dib protested as he too got to his feet and ran to join them. "That's the thing that chased me earlier! It swallowed your robot!"

Zim narrowed his eyes angrily. "Oh it did, did it? Mini-Moose! Destroy that GIR-eating monster!"

As the creature tried squeezing its way into the room, Mini-Moose floated right up to it and started squeaking at it to stop. The chicken squid opened its beak to hiss and tried taking a snap at Mini-Moose. However, Mini-Moose floated backward and opened up the top of his head, revealing a deadly looking laser. It shot a huge burst of energy at the creature, nailing it in the face and blasting it back through the door into the opposite wall with a crash. The laser then retreated back into Mini-Moose's head who merely continued to stare ahead and squeak.

"Whoa." Gaz said in shock. "I didn't know that thing had weapons in it. Why didn't he use them earlier?"

"Yes, my little moose assistant is full of surprises." Zim said, grinning confidently as he ignored her question. "No doubt he has managed to destroy that creature, which means we can finally relax-"

Just then a set of feathered tentacles thrust its way back into the room and seized Mini-Moose, pulling him out into the hall. Before they could react, there was a series of bangs and clashes. Dib raced forward and looked through the doors around the corner.

"Oh man, look at them go! They're beating each to a pulp. This is quite a fight!" Dib exclaimed.

"Let me see!" Zim cried out as he approached the door, only for Dib to hold out his hand.

"Don't come any closer! The creature could come back and-whoa look at that right hook! I didn't know your Moose knew boxing!"

"I wanna see!" Zim said as he tried forcing his way forward, only for Dib to hold him back by the forehead at arm's length.

"And now he unleashing some karate moves! But the chicken squid is fighting back by shooting…oh gross! I did not see that coming! Man this is the greatest fight ever!" Dib said excitedly as Zim growled angrily. "Wait, now the squids shoving Mini-Moose into a tube and-"

Suddenly the banging stopped and was then followed by what sounded like a loud cannon firing causing both Dib and Zim to freeze.

"What on Earth was that?" Gaz asked.

"That sound! They must've activated the air-lock and…Nooo!" Zim then raced to a nearby cracked monitor and turned it on, revealing a distorted view of the house's roof. The three looked at the screen, at first seeing nothing. Suddenly Mini-Moose went flying out of the fake chimney, zoomed up into the Earths atmosphere and disappeared in the direction of the sun.

"Nooo! Not my Moose! I didn't get a chance to save his skin samples for cloning yet!" Zim exclaimed.

Gaz looked up at the monitor in confusion. "Wait, you also have an air-lock canon that can shoot things into space? Seriously, how is it you still haven't destroy Dib yet?"

"Hey!" Dib said in protest.

"That filthy creature has now destroyed two of my sidekicks!" Zim said clenching his fists angrily. "Oh it is SO personal now!"

There was another loud bang followed the chicken squid trying to force its way back into the room again. Zim grabbed his bazooka and aimed straight at the creature.

"Eat carbonated liquid you smelly bird stink!" Zim shouted as he shot a bunch of cans at the chicken squid. All of them struck the creature and exploded, soaking it in soda. However, aside from flinching briefly when struck, the soda itself seemed to have no effect on the chicken squid.

"It didn't…work?" Zim asked, lowering his weapon in confusion.

"Of course it didn't work!" Dib said. "Because it's-"

"Let me try!" Gaz said, pushing her way past Dib as she shook up her can and sprayed it at the giant beast. The soda drenched its already wet feathers but otherwise had no effect as the creature merely let out an irritating screech.

"I tried telling you! Its skin is obviously made of the chicken part." Dib pointed out. "And now you've both gotten it wet, it can easily slide in here!"

Sure enough, the chicken squid was finally able to squeeze it way through the door and into the room. It then lunged its tentacles down toward the three, who all dove in different directions as they tried to find cover from the attacking creature. Gaz and Dib dove over toward an over-turned table while Zim raced toward the weapons wall. The creature chased after Zim, who quickly shot it again with his bazooka, causing it stumble back and give him time to run away.

Gaz and Dib watched as Zim ran circles around the room. Gaz grabbed her sword and was about to go help when Dib grabbed her arm and began pulling her away.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Gaz asked pulling her arm away.

"This is our chance Gaz!" Dib said pointing toward the hall. "The door is wide open and unguarded. We can sneak past that thing and make our escape!"

"But what about Zim?" Gaz asked.

"What about Zim?" Dib asked skeptically.

"Well...he..." Gaz stopped herself when she couldn't think of a reason that would convince Dib to let her help.

It seemed Dib had read her mind as he glared darkly at her. "Need I remind you that he's the reason we're both down here in the first place? The reason why that giant mutant chicken monster exist and is trying to kill us? I won't let you get hurt because of him! He can get his dumb alien hide eaten as far as I'm concerned and this whole world would be better off for it!"

"I know but..." As Gaz paused to think of a response, they heard a loud crash, causing them both to look back over the table. Zim had activated his metal legs and was attempting to climb among the coils in the ceiling with the creature close behind him. Despite stumbling a bit due to his two severed metal legs, he was able to maneuver a lot easier than the chicken squid, which kept getting caught up in the wires and cables, causing the lights in the room to flicker.

Once the creature was finally stuck, Zim used his PAK's laser to cut through one of the coils it was holding on to, causing it to slip and the wires beneath it to to snap. The creature went crashing to the ground and was barely able to recover before being crushed by the metal coil Zim had finished cutting through. As the monster laid twitching, Zim climbed back to the ground, grinning victoriously.

"Yes! My absolutely flawless plan to entrap and crush the sinister creature has worked! And I did it all on my own! All hail Zim, the mighty chicken squid slayer!" Zim declared loudly as he let out a maniacal laugh.

Gaz rolled her eyes. "You know what, never mind. We can go now."

Dib nodded and the two waited till Zim's back was turned before making their way towards the door. Gaz was about to follow Dib out when she heard a scrapping noise and looked back toward Zim, who was still gloating over the crushed chicken squid. She then noticed one of its tentacles had stopped twitching and began digging its way into the ground, dragging itself away.

"And now to cut open this filthy creature and retrieve whatever remains of my SIR unit. Now where did I leave my spleen splicer?"

As Zim turned around to look for his tool box, the squid puffs's other tentacles stopped twitching and had gripped the floor, pulling itself out from under the metal coil. Gaz's eyes widened in terror as the creature's flattened body re-solidified and lifted itself back onto its scrawny legs.

"Watch out!" Gaz called out.

"Huh? What's-GAHH!" Zim said turning around as the creature towered over him once more. Squawking, the creature raised one of its tentacles and went to strike down Zim.

Zim barely had time to react when Gaz suddenly pushed him out of the way. He fell to the floor and look back as Gaz blocked the creatures tentacle with her flame sword. Although she was pushed down, she regained her footing and pushed back with immense force, managing to slice through the feathered tentacle. The creature let out a howling screech and jerked back, barely able to recover before Gaz raced forward and stabbed one of it legs, causing it stumble forward.

She then went to stab the chicken squid again when it smacked her away with its other tentacle, knocking her against the wall and causing her to drop her sword. The creature then seized Gaz and flung her at the ceiling toward a mass of severed metal coils.

She landed hard against the exposed wires, causing Gaz to let out a blood curdling scream as massive volts of electricity surged throughout her body.

"NOOO!!!" Zim shouted.

"GAZ!" Dib exclaimed as he reappeared at the doorway.

Gaz then fell silently towards the floor, her clothes and hair now emitting smoke from electrocution. The creature caught her lifeless body and picked her up by the legs, dangling her high over its head toward its open beak.

"Put her down you monster!"

Suddenly the chicken squid let out a terrible scream. Zim looked over to see Dib, who had grabbed Gaz's blaster sword off the floor and jumped onto the chicken squid, driving the sword deep into its back. He held onto the hilt tightly as the creature flailed violently and became more erratic. The creature then dropped Gaz's body, causing Zim to panic and activate his PAK rockets, which propelled him forward and allowed him to catch Gaz before she hit the ground. He then carried her out into the hall just as the creature was finally able to fling Dib off. While it was distracted in trying to pry the sword out of its back, Dib raced out of the room and down the hall to where Zim was desperately trying to revive Gaz.

"Wake up Gaz human, wake up! I command you to wake up!" Zim said as she shook her shoulders.

Gaz however remained lifeless and didn't react. Before Zim could examine her further, he was shoved aside by Dib who was now shaking her vigorously.

"Gaz! Are you okay? Please wake up!" Dib said desperately.

When she didn't respond, Dib placed two fingers against her neck and then listened to chest. When he could detect neither a pulse nor a heartbeat, his face fell in despair.

"No…" Dib said, all hope lost in his voice.

As he looked at his sister lifeless body, Dib closed his eyes tight, then turned angrily to Zim and punched him in the face. Zim stumbled back, barely hitting the ground before Dib grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and pull him up to face him. "Now you've done it Zim! It's because of you this creature is wreaking havoc and my sister is dead! I'll kill you!"

Dib then went to punch him again only to be stopped by Zim's metal arm. The two struggled against each other until Zim was able to summon another metal limb to grab Dib's other fist and hold him at bay.

"She is not dead!" Zim said as he got to his feet. "Zim refuses to believe it! And if you'll stop trying to punch me like a deranged monkey boy, I will prove it to you!"

Pushing Dib away, Zim retracted his metal limbs and knelt down beside Gaz. He pressed a button on the side of his PAK, causing the oval shaped circle on the back to pop off. He pulled a small wire out the other side of his PAK and inserted it into the small metal circle before plugging the other end into a nearby wall outlet.

"Now then…where does your species keep its hearts?" Zim asked.

"'Heart' Zim." Dib corrected.

"Whatever, JUST POINT IT OUT TO ME!" Zim exclaimed.

Dib rolled his eyes and point to a spot off-center on Gaz's chest. Zim then attached the metal circle to the spot, which sprouted metal clamps that dug into her chest, causing the device to light up and blink in rhythm.

"Now, why don't you check again before trying to bash my face in?" Zim said pointing down to Gaz. Dib leaned over to check her pulse again and was surprised to find that she had one.

"That's…incredible! How did you-?"

"My PAK's battery. It's a self-charging device designed to keep my inner systems working even upon severe injury." Zim explained. "If detached willingly from my PAK, it can sustain itself by being hooked up to a source of electricity and a living organism. As long as the power in my base holds out, that battery will keep her alive until we find another way to revive her."

Just then the lights began to flicker on and off. Zim and Dib heard howling and raced down the hall, stopping at the door to the control room where the creature was still trying to pry the sword out of its back. Due to its injured leg, the creature was stumbling everywhere, crashing against panel and pulling down every wire and cable it could grab. With every flail of its tentacle, the lights flickered more dangerously.

"At this rate it'll tear apart the whole base!" Dib whispered harshly. "We need to destroy it before the power is gone! But how?"

Dib and Zim then quickly ducked quickly back behind the wall as the creature stumbled toward them before falling back onto its side.

Zim looked at the creature and narrowed his eyes in thought. "Its skin may be as solid as a chickens, but I guarantee you its insides are not! We need to find a way to blow it up from within, preferably with some big explosive device that can destroy a creature that size. If only my weapons and tech weren't all damaged…"

"Something big…" Dib then got an idea. "Wait a sec, I just remembered! Earlier when it was chasing me, I saw it swallow some sort of large metal cylinder device that was emitting electricity. If it's still in the stomach, perhaps we can detonate it somehow and blow up the creature!"

"Fool!" Zim exclaimed. "That will never work! What a stupid, stupid-wait, did you say a metal cylinder device? Are you sure that's what it was?"

"Definitely. I saw it when the creature swallowed your robot. It looked like a giant cooking pot and was covered with black stuff and pizza cheese."

"The cloner…" Something then clicked in Zim's brain causing him to grin. "Yes! I have it! I know how to destroy the creature!" His face then fell. "But…"

"What?" Dib asked. "But what?"

"I'm…going to need your…your…" Zim cringed in disgust as he struggled to pronounce the word. "Heeellllppp…to do it. Ugh, that felt wrong."

"What? No way! After what you did to Gaz, you should be the one to-"

"I'm doing this to SAVE Gaz!" Zim exclaimed getting in his face. "Right now, the only thing keeping your sister alive is my PAK's battery and the power in this base. If the electricity goes, she goes, and I'm the only one left who knows how to keep it running! So are you going to help me or not?" Zim then extended his hand to Dib.

Dib glared hatefully at Zim, his every instinct telling him not to trust him. He then thought back to Gaz's lifeless body and knew if this was the only way to keep her alive, he had to take it.

"Fine." Dib said grabbing Zims hand. "I'll do whatever it takes to save her."

"Good." Zim said. His metal arms then came out of his PAK and seized Dib.

"Wait! What are you-!"

"Hey Squid smelly!" Zim said, hold Dib high above his head. "Come and get it!"

The chicken squid, which had finally managed to dislodge the sword from its back, turned in their direction and squawked loudly before crawling its way toward them.

"Oh you rotten little space rat!" Dib yelled as he struggled against the arms. "If I get out of this, I am so turning you into mincemeat!"

"Yeah, yeah, you can do that after all this is done!" Zim shouted up to him. "Now make sure after it swallows you, that you find the cloner and get the chicken squid to regurgitate it. Once you do, I can shoot it with a laser, causing it to explode and destroy the wretched creature!"

"Can't you just throw me Gaz's weapon and I'll stab the machine through its stomach?" Dib asked before a thought occurred to him. "Wait, but then I'll be caught in the explosion if I do that. Hang on a sec, I'll be caught in the explosion no matter how this plan goes down. You're trying to blow me up on purpose aren't you!?"

"What's that? I can't hear you!" Zim yelled up, feigning deafness. "Anyways, good luck!"

He then tossed Dib toward the creature, which opened its beak wide and caught him in midair.

"CURSE YOU ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMM!" Dib shouted as the creature swallowed him whole with one gulp.

Once Dib disappeared down its gullet, the creature turned its attention back on Zim, who faced it defiantly.

"It's just you and me now squid filth." Zim growled, picking up Gaz's flame sword and igniting it. "Let's dance."


	10. The Finishing Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dib explores the belly of the beast while Zim fights the creature head on in a race to save Gaz.

Chapter 10: The Finishing Move

"CURSE YOU ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMM!"

Dib's last words were drowned out as the chicken squid snapped its beak shut and swallowed him whole. Dib let out a scream as he went sliding down the creatures throat, unable to grab onto the slippery walls around him. Finally he slid into a black void and fell several feet before finally landing at the bottom of the stomach with a soft plop. Feeling slightly disoriented, Dib tried getting to his feet but was having difficulty as he appeared to have landed on something sticky. Everything around him was pitch black but luckily Dib was prepared for such an occasion.

"It's a good thing I always keep a strap-on head light in case of unlikely events such as this." Dib said as he took the light out of his pocket and strapped it around his large head. Turning it on, he looked down and was surprised to see that he landed in a big gooey pile of melted cheese. In fact, the entire stomach was completely covered from wall to wall in melted pizza cheese and Dib soon realized he was ankle deep in it.

"Well, at least it's better then swimming through stomach acid." Dib said somewhat optimistically. Not knowing where to start, he picked a direction and started wading slowly through the cheese, a feat that proved to be challenging as the thick goo kept sticking to his shoes.

"Ugh, it smells like rancid fish in here." Dib said, holding his nose as he continued to wade through the stomach cheese. "The sooner I find that cloner the better."

"You lookin for a cloner? I know what dat is!"

Dib jumped slightly and turned his head in the direction of the familiar voice. "Who's there? Who said that?"

"I did! Now Imma do a little dance! Doo doo doo de do do doooo..."

Dib aimed his head light around and noticed the voice seemed to be coming from the stomach walls. Wading over, he aimed his light higher was surprised to see GIR plastered up against the cheese-covered wall. His arms were stuck in the cheese but his legs were moving freely and kicking in rhythm to his song. Dib then heard more voices singing along with GIR and moved his light along the wall. He was further surprised to see Zim's robot parents were also plastered against the wall next to GIR, along with the extremely happy looking kid that was floating in the lab tubes earlier. All four seemed to be stuck but otherwise looked relatively carefree and unharmed.

"Whoa! You guys are still alive?" Dib asked walking up to them.

"Well of course we are!" Robot Dad answered. "Digesting us quickly would be rude."

"Yeah, we're just hanging out here until the Office Christmas party!" Robot mom responded, her eyes rolling back in her head.

"Okay then...well since you guys are here, have you seen Zim's cloner?" Dib asked. "It metal, round, looks like a giant cooking pot?"

"Cooking pot? I'd love one of those for Christmas!" Robot Mom exclaimed. "Then we can make tons of bacon and pudding meatballs!"

"Oooh! We can make those fish lard sandwiches they show in the health magazines!" Robot Dad agreed.

Dib rolled his eyes. "Ugh, I didn't ask if you wanted it, I asked if you've SEEN it!"

"Seen what exactly?" Robot dad asked causing Dib to smack his forehead in annoyance.

"I know where it is!" GIR exclaimed.

"You do? Where? Tell me!" Dib pleaded.

GIR shook his head. "Only if you get me tacos!"

"Tacos? We're inside the belly of a giant chicken squid pizza monster! Where am I going to get tacos?" Dib asked.

"Then I no helped you." GIR looked away and clenching his mouth shut, humming loudly to himself. Dib let out an aggravated sigh and bent down, where he somehow managed to fashion a lumpy piece of pizza cheese into a small taco.

"Here!" Dib said holding up the cheese taco. GIR looked at it and squealed in delight before grabbing the taco with his foot and devouring it in five seconds.

"OK you got your taco! Now where is the cloner?" Dib asked.

"Mmmm! That was tasty!" GIR said after swallowing the last bits of cheese. "I want another one!"

"No! Not until you tell me what you know!" Dib said pointing at him.

"Big head boy's a meany!" GIR pouted and once again turned away. Dib groaned loudly and once again bent down to make another cheese based taco, which GIR instantly inhaled, chewing thoroughly.

"Mmmm, yummy!" GIR said happily licking the cheese off his mouth. "Now what was you saying? Oh yeah...um...uh...I want another one!"

Dib growled angrily. "Enough with the tacos you stupid robot! I can't keep making them all day!"

"Maybe you can stick one in the cloner over there and make more." The happy kid said as he pointed off to the corner.

Dib quickly turned his head and spotted the cloner, which was embedded on the opposite side of the stomach wall and dripping with cheese.

"The cloner! How'd I not see that before?" Dib exclaimed before turning to the kid. "Wait, you knew where it was this whole time? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was hoping to be digested by now." The kid said happily. "But since I'm not, I thought I'd help you out! Helping people makes me so happy!"

His eye twitching, Dib shook his head and waded over to the cloner. After much strain and effort, he was finally able to pry it off the stomach walls, dropping it down into the cheese. Dib exhaled in relief and began dragging it to the center of the stomach with some difficulty.

"Okay, I got the cloner. Now all I need to do is get the chicken squid to throw it back up and save the day!" Dib grunted with effort. "I'll start by placing it near the stomach...opening..."

Dib's face fell as he looked upwards at the top of the stomach where the throat valve was, which was a good fifteen feet in the air.

"Oh boy..." Dib said wearily as GIR started sucking bits of the cheese off the bottom of his foot.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zim was busy trying to keep the chicken squid at bay, using the flame sword to stab and shoot at the creature whenever possible. Despite the creature's injured leg and slower speed, it was still attacking with as much voracity as before and was keeping Zim on his toes. Zim meanwhile made sure the creature never lost sight of him, using every opportunity to lure it into a new room or hallway and further into his base. His overall plan was to keep the creature as far away as possible from Gaz and any room that contained a power source. Eventually he got the idea to lure it toward the hanger where he kept his Voot cruiser, hoping the wide open space would provide enough room for them to fight without causing further damage. Plus if he could get to it in time, he could use the cruiser as both a fort and weapon against the creature.

Zim had just turned another corner and stopped at a panel, waiting as the chicken squid tried catching up with him. Holding his hand over the button, Zim waited until the precise moment when the chicken squid was about to seize him. He activated the button, causing a set of doors to close on the creatures tentacles, temporarily stopping it.

"Ha! Try and keep up you big chickeny...chicken head!" Zim shouted, mocking the creature with his laughter before racing down the hallway. Although he knew the door wouldn't hold the creature for long, Zim still needed to buy Dib and himself some time but was careful not to get too far ahead.

As Zim turned a corner and waited for the chicken squid to catch up, his laughter subsided as he felt a sudden wave of exhaustion followed by blurry vision and weakness in his knees. Holding onto the wall, Zim slowly knelt down and closed his eyes, rubbing the sides of his head furiously in an attempt to regain his focus.

One thing he had neglected to tell Dib, and for good reason, was that while his PAK battery would continue to keep Gaz alive while plugged in, the PAK itself could only keep Zim alive until it ran out of power. Without the battery, he was looking at a good twenty minutes at most, longer then had his PAK been completely removed but still short on time, especially since Zim was using most of his energy to chase and fight off the creature. He knew that if he disclosed that information to Dib, the human would probably take longer on his mission in hopes that Zim would expire before the monster did.

"Ugh...keep it together Zim!" he told himself, slapping himself rather hard on the cheek.

Hearing the banging and screeches of the beast as it tore open the doors and was fast approaching, Zim forced himself to his feet and continued forward. Luckily he was just around the corner from the entrance to the hanger and raced inside, shutting the door behind him. Zim immediately spotted the Voot cruiser and jumped into the cockpit, quickly activating its shields and weaponry. Just as he had everything functional, the creature busted through the doors and crawled its way onto the landing floor. It hissed at the Voot cruiser, which was now floating in midair, ready to take on the giant foe.

"Alright you stinkin abomination of sea beast and human filth, time to take you down once and for all." Zim then grabbed the controls and pressed a button, firing lasers at the chicken squid, which let out a horrible screech as it stumbled back. Gripping its tentacles on the ground, the creature propelled itself forward and wrapped itself around the cruiser which sank a bit under the added weight. Luckily it stayed in the air despite the creature tearing into it, allowing Zim to rock the controls back and forth in an attempt to shake the creature off.

For a while, it was beast versus machine as the two tangled with each other, the cruiser blasting multiple shots into the creature which was now leaking black ooze and pizza cheese. The creature didn't quit however and kept bashing on the cruiser, creating dents and large cracks in the windshield. Still Zim held on, trying to keep his focus despite feeling his body and motor skills start to weaken.

"Come on Dib-stink, hurry your big head up already!" Zim yelled out loud as the creature began bashing its beak against his windshield, causing it to crack a little more each time.

* * *

Inside the creature's stomach, Dib and the other devoured sidekicks were being knocked around by the constant movement, unaware of all the action and fighting that was going on outside. Dib tried frantically to hold on as he was rocked back and forth, a feat that proved difficult as the only thing he had to grab onto was cheese. At one point he heard the faint sound of laser blasts going on outside and watched a hard blast against the stomach wall jarred GIR, the robot parents and the smiley kid loose. All four went flying off the wall and were being propelled back and forth across the stomach with every jarring movement. Dib tried to move out of the way but all the sidekicks smashed into him at once, sending all of them flying and crashing into the opposite wall.

"Woohoo! This is fun!" GIR exclaimed as he jumped into the air, only to go flying upwards before landing back on top of Dib's head.

"Agh, stop that!" Dib exclaimed, prying GIR off his head. "Quit fooling around you guys! We need to get this cloner up the throat and out of the creatures mouth before its too late! You robots must have extendable arms or legs or something like that to lift this thing!"

"Oh no, we don't do that." Robot Mom said casually.

"We can do this though!" Robot Dad said as he spun his head and body around in two different directions.

"Oh that looks like fun! Let me try!" Robot Mom said she spun herself around in the same way.

Dib smacked himself hard on the head, watching as the Robot parents spun so fast they fell to pieces.

"I win!" Robot Dad's head shouted.

"Nuh-uh! I want a rematch!" Robot Mom said, as her head rolled over and was now face down in the cheese.

"You!" Dib pointed at GIR. "I know you have rockets in your feet. Fly this thing up there and shove it back up the creatures throat!"

"Hmmm...nah. I likes it in here!" GIR shook his head and fell back onto the cheese covered floor, moving his arms and legs to make a cheese angel. "Heehee! It's so soft and squishyful!"

Dib looked as if he was about to blow a gasket when suddenly an idea came to mind. "You know...I think I saw a bunch of tacos at the top of the hole up there."

GIR perked up for a moment then shrugged and continued making cheese angels. "I don't want tacos anymore. Now I want taquitos!"

"Did I say tacos? I meant taquitos!" Dib corrected himself. "Uh yeah, a really big taquito! Oh but there's only one of them up there though. If only you could get this cloner up there, you can make uh, a million of them!"

GIR sat up and smiled. "A million taquitos!? All right! Let's do this!"

GIR then activated rocket boots, grabbed the cloner and flew up toward the stomach valve, forcing his way through and up the throat. Once he was gone, Dib grabbed the Smiley kids arm and pulled him toward the broken, littered parts of the Robot parents.

"Quick, we need to take cover immediately!" Dib said as he picked up Robot Mom's torso and handing it to the kid.

"Why do we need to do that?" The smiley kid asked, twitching slightly as he looked over the robot part curiously.

"Cause when that cloner goes off, these guys won't be the only ones scattered into pieces." Dib explained as he used Robot Mom's arm to pry open the cover on Robot Dad's torso.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zim was slowly starting to lose his battle with the chicken squid, as well as his focus. Despite its wounds, the creature was fighting more savagely then ever, ripping off some of the Voot cruisers lasers and damaging the rockets so that it wasn't hovering as high. Zim struggled to keep the cruiser straight but every slam from the creatures tentacles caused more of the systems to become damaged.

"Ugh! Curse this relentless squidropod!" Zim swore out loud as he shook the chicken squid off enough to dislodge one of its tentacles. He then flipped the cover off the top switch on his controller, intending to launch a torpedo at the creature.

Unfortunately, Zim's vision started to blur again and his finger kept slipping and missing the buttons. It was as if he was forgetting how to use his hands, which was one of the major warning signs that he was starting to deteriorate. Once he was finally able to regain focus though, Zim realized too late that the chicken squid had torn the torpedo cannon off his ship and had now disabled his weapon controls.

"No! That wretched creature has-GAHHH!"

Zim ducked back as the chicken squid finally succeeded in smashing its beak through the cruiser's windshield. Zim let out another scream and tried reaching for the flame sword, but was quickly seized by the creatures tentacles. It then yanked him out of the cockpit through the hole and held him up high, letting out a loud squawk before opening its mouth wide to eat him.

Suddenly the chicken squid started gagging and began making a bunch of awful gargling noise, as if it were choking. The creature then dropped Zim, who was barely able to grab onto the ships ledge, before tearing at its throat and making a huge heaving motion. Zim watched in surprise as the chicken squid let out a loud cough, causing the cloner to reappear in its mouth, along with GIR who looked around in confusion.

"Aww, where'd the taquito go?" GIR asked in disappointment before spotting Zim and waving. "Hi master! I'm in a chicken's mouth!"

"GIR! Pry open the lid on the cloner, quickly!" Zim commanded.

His eyes turning red, GIR saluted and started ripping off the metal lid on the cloner. The creature tried stuffing GIR and the machine back down its throat but Zim had made his way back into the cruiser and was now using the ships arms to grab its tentacles, effectively keeping the chicken squid from moving.

Finally GIR finished prying open the lid, exposing the cloner's core. "I did it! Now where's my taquito?"

"Up here GIR! Now stuff that device back down its throat and come join me. Things are about to heat it up." Zim said as he activated the flame sword.

GIR let out a happy squeal, pushed the cloner to the back of the creatures throat and activated his rocket boots, allowing him to fly out of the creatures mouth. Zim kicked down the broken windshield and leap into the air, landing on GIR as he flew by. The two flew high enough that they could clearly see the creature, who was still struggling against the cruiser's metal limbs and unable to swallow or spit out the cloner.

Kneeling on top of GIR, Zim rested the flame sword on top of GIR's head and aimed it so that it would launch right into the creatures mouth and at the cloner. Mustering up every ounce of focus he possessed, Zim gripped the trigger. "Sorry squidy. Kitchen's now closed."

He then pressed the button on the side and squeezed the trigger, causing a flaming sword to shoot out of the barrel, down the creatures throat and straight into the cloner's exposed core. The device erupted into a massive display of fire and smoke before finally blowing up in a giant burst of energy. The chicken squid let out a roar as the blast ripped through its body, causing it to explode in a burst of feathers and tentacles. Zim and GIR shielded themselves from the splatter while the cruiser was knocked back by the explosion, crashing against the wall before falling onto the ground.

Once the brightness had died down, Zim looked back to see the hanger covered in pizza cheese, feathers and bits of squid tentacles. From among the chunks of cheese, the robot parents heads came rolling out along with their various body parts.

"Aww, did we miss the Christmas party?" Robot Mom asked in disappointment.

Just then their bodies came rolling out of the cheese residue seemingly on their own. The metal plates covering their insides popped open, revealing a disoriented Dib and smiley kid who looked both confused and irritated.

"See?" Dib said in a drunk, dizzying manner. "I told ya...their bodies would...shield us from the blast...mostly..." He then collapsed promptly into a pile of cheese and feathers.

"Ugh! That was horrible! It was so smelly and cramped in there!" The Smiley Kid said, looking uncharacteristically angry. "Forget the blast, I thought I would've died in there from the smell alone! That was a terrible hiding spot kid! Man, I've never been so...". He suddenly stopped and felt the corners of his now frowning mouth, before feeling the metal screw on his head, which seemed to have partially broken off. "Hey! I..I don't feel happy anymore! I can frown and think angry thoughts again! This is the best day of my life! Woohoo!"

As the kid went racing out the room in celebration, GIR flew down to the ground allowing Zim to jump off onto a spot that wasn't covered with cheese.

"We did it GIR! We've vanquished our disgusting foe with amazing genius and flair!" Zim declared confidently.

"Yaaaay Taquito!" GIR then dove face first into the cheese, eating as much as it as he could. "Mmmm it taste like exploding!"

Despite how woozy he feeling, Zim stood up proudly and grinned at the carnage around him. "Yes GIR, I am quite amazing. Score zero for filthy squid monsters, score one bajillion for ZIM, the greatest Irken warrior in the universe! Nothing can possibly ruin this moment!"

Just then the lights flickered before completely shutting off, plunging the room into darkness.

"Aww is it bedtime already?" Robot Dad asked out loud.

Zim's eyes widened in terror. "No! Not now!" Activating a flashlight from his PAK, Zim navigated his way to the door, stopping briefly to look back at the GIR.

"GIR! Stop stuffing your face and try to get the power back on! Quickly!"

Even though he knew it would eat up a lot of his leftover power, Zim activated his rocket jets and flew out of the hanger, leaving a confused looking GIR licking the cheese off his face.

* * *

Quickly Zim flew down the hallways, his PAK's flashlight barely visible in the darkness which caused him to bump into walls and objects at every turn. Zim however refused to slow down until he reached Gaz and pushed himself to fly faster, despite the increasingly high drop in his energy levels.

Finally he reached the spot where he left Gaz and landed roughly on the floor. His legs had given out and he could feel weakness start to overcome him. Trying desperately to regain his focus, Zim shined his light in her direction and was horrified to see that his PAK's battery had dislodged itself from her chest. Without a power source to fuel it, the device had rejected her life form meaning there was nothing fueling her systems. Zim grabbed the battery and with some difficulty, stuck it back into his PAK where it powered back up, allowing Zim to regain some strength and energy. He could tell it wasn't back to full power but decided to worry about it later. Right now Gaz was his priority. Placing his hand on the spot where he heart was, he couldn't detect a beat or any trace of movement indicating she was alive. He then waved his hands in front of her eyes but still felt nothing.

"Argh! She isn't breathing either!" Zim cursed in frustration. "I need to get her systems working again. Think Zim think!"

He then began wracking his brain, knowing every moment he wasted was one moment closer to her never waking up. Finally an idea came to him.

"I got it! If electricity managed to stop her heart, then surely another jolt could get it working again." He then paused and frowned. "But the power in the base is still down, and GIR probably won't get it working again in time. The only source of electricity is my PAK...

Zim paused as the thought crossed his mind but he shook his head. "No. It's too risky. It's not fully charged and any attempt I make may result in my own demise. I can't risk myself and my mission for one lowly human! Even if she is amazingly outstanding and a brilliant shot and a highly skilled swordsman...and the most clever of her species...who's lust for power rivals my own...who saved my life...twice..."

Zim then looked down at Gaz, whose paling complexion was getting worse. He had never felt such at odds with himself before, especially when it came to choosing between himself and another being. Even worse, he was now feeling a whole new stirring in his squeedily spooch, something that overrode every instinct he had as an invader and went against all reason.

"So be it." Zim said with conviction.

Having made his decision, Zim summoned two arms from his PAK which had electrical pads attached at the ends. Sending power from his PAK to them, Zim rubbed them together and placed them over Gaz's chest.

"Activate!" Zim shouted as a zap of electricity coursed through Gaz's body, causing it to jolt upward a bit. He waited but she remained still. Figuring she needed another boost, Zim sent another jolt of electricity through her body. Aside from a light spasm, she did not move.

"Warning: Power Reserves at 65%. Attach external power cord to recharge." The deep voice from his PAK said.

Seeing Gaz was still not conscious, Zim narrowed his eyes in determination. "Override warning."

He then activated the electrical pads again and zapped Gaz. Nothing happened.

"Warning: Power Reserves at 48%. Attach external-"

"Override warning" Zim repeated before zapping her once more. Still she did not respond.

"Warning: Power reserves at 33%-"

"Override." Zim repeated, then zapped Gaz again.

"Warning: Power reserved at 21%-"

"OVERRIDE!" Zim shouted as he continued to shock Gaz. The more power he used, the more energy he took away from himself. Soon Zim's flashlight fizzled out and his healing ability started to wear off as well, causing his skin to turn deathly pale and old cuts and bruises to reappear. Still he kept going, with every shock wave causing him to become weaker and more sickly-looking.

"Danger! PAK battery power down to 4%. Further drainage will result in full system shut down. Attach external power cord for immediate reboot."

Retracting his metal arms, Zim fell to his knees breathing heavily. His insides felt like they were on fire and his spooch felt like a deflated balloon that had been refilled with lead. Every movement he made was painful and he felt completely drained of energy. With some effort, he pressed the button on his wrist communicator. "GIR...have you gotten...the power...back yet?"

"I  _*TSSH*_ not _*TSSH*_ see _*TSSH*_ " GIR replied as the frequency seemed to be distorted. "Fix _*TSSH*_ darkness _*TSSH*_ banana! _*TSSH*_ "

Seeing that GIR would be of no help, he cut the transmission. He looked down at the still motionless Gaz as a wave of crushing defeat washed over him. If she hadn't woken up by now, she was never going to. If he attempted to keep on reviving her, it would surely result in his own death. Zim hung his head low.

"I...failed." Zim whispered to himself. He looked over at Gaz and reached over, stroking her pale cheek which still felt somewhat warm to the touch.

"Gaz...I...I'm..." As his fingers brushed by her neck, he felt a strange vibration which made him perk up. "Wait! Hold on a second!"

Remembering what Dib had done before, Zim placed his finger against the spot on her neck and was surprised to feel it pulsating.

"She's starting to come back! There's still a chance!"

With that spark of hope Zim forced himself to his feet, his body straining under the efforts, and summoned back his metal arms. "All she needs is one last jump start."

Forgoing all warnings and consequences, Zim activated his PAK one last time and pressed his electrical pads against her chest. With one big jolt, Zim sent the last of his energy reserves coursing through Gaz's body, causing his own PAK to short circuit and finally power down.

As soon as the electricity wore off, Gaz lurched forward, her eyes wide open as she gasped for air. She collapsed back down, coughing up a fit as her body struggled for air. Gaz leaned onto her side, gasping and groaning in pain as she found herself in an unfamiliar place surrounded by darkness. Straining her eyes, she looked over to what appeared to be a silhouette of Zim, who was standing up with his PAK limbs still out.

"Z...Zim...?" Gaz said in a hoarse whisper as she tried looking up through the darkness.

Zim said nothing. Had Gaz been able to see him, she'd have noticed his eyes had gone dark, his mouth hung open, and smoke was now emitting from his PAK. With no strength left to hold himself up, Zim collapsed forward, his arms spread out as he face-planted onto the floor. His PAK, now visible to Gaz, appeared to be emitting a blinking red light, indicating it needed to be reactivated.

Despite being barely able to move, Gaz tried reaching over to press the reset button on Zim's PAK. She fell way short however and was only able to reach Zim's hand before her strength finally gave out. Feeling herself start to succumb to exhaustion, Gaz just barely managed to move her fingers so they were slightly touching his. Zim's hand twitched for a moment but he otherwise did not move.

Laying side by side, the two then slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing either of them saw was the surrounding darkness being vanquished by light, followed by the silhouette of a large headed figure.


	11. True Motives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaz awakens from her ordeal and finds out what happened while she was unconscious.

Chapter 11: True Motives

Gaz let out a low groan as she awoke from what felt like the longest sleep of her life. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to find herself lying face down on a pillow in a soft bed. She tried to sit up but flinched painfully, her back feeling as if it'd been stabbed with a thousand flaming knives.

"Ugh….what…where…huh?"

Looking off to the side, the first thing she noticed was a familiar looking stuffed teddy bear. Her gaze shifted beyond the bear and around the room which was dark, covered in glowing video game posters, and filled with other familiar things she recognized, including other stuffed animals, several gaming systems and a giant TV screen. That's when Gaz realized where she was.

"I'm…home?"

Gaz blinked a couple of times as she looked around her bedroom, wondering if she was dreaming. Yet all her things were in the same place she'd left them, including her trash pile of empty Power Burst cans she drank last week. The only things that looked out of place were rolls of medical tape and pieces of gauze that lay discarded on her end table, along with a tube of Bends-Away cream.

Gaz looked around in bewilderment. "How did I- Ow!"

She tried to sit up again but this time felt a squeezing pain, as if something were constricting her body. Looking downward, she realized she wasn't wearing her normal long-sleeved shirt and dress. Instead she was wearing a long nightshirt that stretched down past her knees and over her stockings, which were covered with burn marks. Wondering what was constricting her, Gaz looked down her shirt, where she was shocked to find that her chest and mid drift was completely wrapped in bandages.

"Well isn't this just great?" Gaz said sarcastically.

Rolling onto her side, she once again tried hoisting herself up, a feat that proved harder and more painful then she anticipated as the bandages were wrapped very tightly around her body. Once she finally got in a semi-comfortable sitting position, Gaz slid her legs out from under the blanket and dangled them over the side. She let out a slow breath and used what little strength she had to try and stand up. She immediately recoiled from the severe pain, lying back down on her side as she waiting for the awful burning and stinging sensations to go away.

"Oww..Aw man...I feel like I played through every boss level of Vampire Piggy Hunter first hand." Gaz groaned and started furiously rubbing the sides of her head, which was also throbbing painfully. "What happened to me?"

As she massaged her aching forehead, scattered memories from earlier started coming back to her. The last thing Gaz remembered clearly was attacking the chicken squid before it grabbed her and threw her toward the ceiling wires, followed by a bright light. Everything after that was black and hazy, with the exception of some familiar voices yelling her name along with visions of Zim looking worried and later falling face first to the ground.

"Zim…" Gaz suddenly remembered having a brief look at the alien's backpack device, which had been blinking red like the last time he suffered a horrible injury. Determined to find out what had happened to him, Gaz forced herself to sit back up despite the constant pain. After a few tries, she finally managed to get off the bed and stand on her own two feet.

"Whew. Alright then…now to go find Zim."

Just as she managed to steady herself enough to walk, she heard the door opened and turned to see Dib walk in, carrying what appeared to be a medical tray. He froze upon seeing her awake and dropped the tray, his face breaking into a huge smile. "GAZ!"

He then raced over and threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "Oh thank BigFeets you're alive!"

"OW! Don't touch me you idiot!" Gaz yelled shoving Dib off her as she leaned back against her bed.

"Oh, sorry." Dib said bashfully as he helped her sit back down. "Almost forgot about your back. I'm just so relieved that you're finally awake. I thought you died again or something."

"Again?" Gaz asked in surprise. "When did I die the first time?"

"It's…kind of a long and elaborate story…" Dib admitted. "But hey, you're all better now and that's all that matters!"

"Yeah well I don't feel better. And I have tons of questions that need answering." Gaz said, wincing as she struggled to find another comfortable sitting position. "For starters, what the heck are we doing back home?  _How_  did we get back home? What happened to the chicken squid and how did I end up in these bandages?"

Dib suddenly looked uncomfortable and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah about that…well, you see, you kinda…may have gotten slightly...electrocuted when the chicken squid threw you into those power cables."

"Slightly electrocuted?" Gaz asked skeptically.

"Okay you were actually really, badly electrocuted. Pretty much to the point where you were rendered unconscious. You had no pulse, no heartbeat, you weren't even breathing…I really thought for a moment you were gone. I mean if it wasn't for-" Dib then stopped talking for a moment before continuing. "Uh, my quick thinking, I wouldn't have gotten your heart beating again. As for how we escaped, I managed to distract the chicken squid long enough to get you safely out of the base. Then I brought you back home, treated the electrical burns on your back-"

"Wait, you did this?" Gaz exclaimed, pointing to her bandages as she looking at Dib in disgust. "Ew, are you telling me YOU undressed me!?"

"What? No! No!" Dib said hastily. "Well, sorta. Your clothes were scorched from the accident, and I had to remove them in order to treat your burns. I swear I didn't see or touch anything!"

Gaz looked suspiciously at Dib, noting the nervous look on his face and decided not to press the matter. She had more important questions to ask. "Fine. So what happened with the chicken squid then?"

"Oh yeah, um, I defeated it!" Dib responded quickly and somewhat proudly. "Yep. After I got you to safety, I stole Zim's space ship and used it to blast the thing to smithereens! Oh man you should've been there Gaz, I was so totally heroic and junk. I can go into great detail about it if you want-"

"Yeah, yeah, great. What about Zim?" Gaz interrupted. "Where was he during all this?"

Dib smile faltered and he looked offended. "Wait, I just told you about how I blew up a giant monster and you're more concerned about Zim?"

"Duh! Why would I care about your lame tale of heroism?" Gaz scoffed.

"Oh but you care if Zim is okay or not?" Dib asked skeptically.

"No I don't!" Gaz added quickly before continuing. "It's just...I could've sworn I saw Zim at some point while I was drifting in and out of consciousness. He looked like he was injured real bad. I mean, he's not is he? Not that I care but, it seems weird he would let you get away with using his ship. You didn't kill him for it or anything like that…right?"

Dib suddenly looked mad. "Well of course I didn't! This is Zim we're talking about! Apparently nothing in the universe can kill him! He can electrocute himself to death and still-" Dib then stopped and covered his mouth.

"Electrocute himself?" Gaz asked, her tone full of concern. "What are you talking about?

"Did I say himself? No I meant, electrocute the uh…chicken squid!" Dib stuttered. "Yeah, he electrocuted the chicken squid right before I swooped in and blew it up!"

Gaz narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "If Zim electrocuted it, why would you need to blow it up?"

"Uhhhhhh…." Sweat started slip down Dib's forehead. "To make sure it was…extra dead?"

Noting the uneasiness in his tone and his increased sweating, Gaz knew something wasn't right. "Alright Dib, what's going on?"

"What? Nothing! Nothing at all!" Dib squeaked a little too loudly.

Gaz intensified her glare till it was practically slicing into him.

"I…I told you, there's nothing to tell!" Dib repeated, shaking a little. "Look it doesn't matter anyways. The creature is dead, you're alive, we're both back home and everything's alright now. Can't we leave it at that and relax for the next thirty or so minutes?"

"I know you're keeping something from me!" Gaz exclaimed. "And if I have to pound you to find out then I'll- AHHH!"

In her haste to intimidate Dib, Gaz had stood up too quickly and was hit by a sharp wave of pain, causing her body to flinch and her dull headache to worsen. She was about to collapse backward when Dib caught her and helped lay her down on her side. He then ran and grabbed the med tray off the floor, picking up a pill bottle and a cold compress which he held against her forehead.

"I'm not…done with you yet..." Gaz groaned as she tried swatting away the cold pack.

"Just relax already will you? I got something that will help." Dib said as he unscrewed the top off the medicine bottle and took out some small pills. "Took me several hours but I managed to track down those chewable pain killers you like, so it won't hurt when you move."

He gave them to Gaz, who continued to glare at him but nonetheless, took the pills and chewed them up before swallowing them reluctantly. "Don't think you're off the hook just yet. I may not be at my best but I'll still-."Gaz paused as something Dib said stuck out in her mind. "Did you say several hours?"

Dib paused uncertainly. "Yeah…give or take a few minutes."

Gaz turned her head and pressed a small button on a nearby alarm clock, revealing the time which seemed to be early evening. Confused, she grabbed a nearby remote and pressed a button which activated the curtains on her bedroom window, causing them to part and reveal an orange sky along with a slowly setting sun.

Gaz grew concerned. "How long was I out?"

"Almost twelve hours since this morning." Dib responded. "I had to use dad's voice modifier to call Skool and excuse us from class. Good thing he never checks his inventory or our attendance records or we'd really be in trouble."

"I've been out for almost twelve hours!?" Gaz said, her mind now racing.

"Well to be fair, you did stay up for nearly two days straight subsiding on only pizza and energy drinks." Dib pointed out.

"And what about Zim? Where's he been all this time? Is he okay?"

"Ugh, you're asking about him again?" Dib said in annoyance. "Why do you even care what happens to him?"

Getting impatient, Gaz forced herself to sit back up, this time being careful not to strain anything. "Okay, what's going on? Why won't you tell me anything about Zim?"

"Gaz lay back down! You're gonna hurt yourself again!" Dib begged trying to hold her down. She instead seized him by the arms and dug her nails into his flesh, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Why won't you answer my questions!?" Gaz demanded.

"Because it doesn't matter that's why! And once the FBI comes, he won't be bothering-" Dib quickly covered his mouth again. "Gah! Why do I keep doing that?"

Gaz clenched her jaw angrily. "SECURITY!"

"No wait! Not the-AHHHHHHH!!"

Suddenly all of Gaz's stuffed animals came to life, growing several feet taller as they stood upon their metal appendages, their glowing red eyes locked on Dib. Taking out their weapons, the animals quickly grabbed Dib and restrained his arms and legs, holding him up before a giant stuffed snake. The creature whipped out the switch blade from its tail and opened it mouth to reveal its big pointed fangs before slowly advancing toward Dib.

"What the-no! No, get away! Get away you horrid beast!" Dib pleaded as he struggled against the other animal's hold. The snake opened its mouth wider, its fangs dripping with venom. It then began spinning the switchblade with its tail as it slithered closer and closer toward Dibs face, eager to strike its prey.

"Stop! I'll tell you whatever you want to know!" Dib cried out in desperation. "Just call that thing off, please!"

Gaz then snapped her fingers and the snake stopped in place. It then withdrew its fangs and backed away from Dib as two other stuffed animals picked up Gaz and carried her toward him. She grabbed Dib by the chin so he was looking right at her and stared glaringly into his eyes.

"No more lies, or next time I won't bother stopping them. Now talk!" Gaz commanded, releasing her grip on Dib's face so he could speak.

"Alright fine then! But you better not take your anger out on me cause it wasn't my idea to not tell you!" Dib warned.

Gaz crossed her arms. "No promises. Now explain."

"Alright…well, for starters, I didn't defeat the chicken squid. Zim did. Well, we sorta did it together. See there was this cloning machine it had swallowed earlier with Zim's robot, and I went inside it to get it out so we can make it explode-"

"Get on with it Dib." Gaz said impatiently.

"Right, right…well, in addition to defeating the monster, Zim is also the reason you're alive…he saved you after you got electrocuted by attaching his PAK battery to your chest. It was the only way to keep your heart going."

Gaz's scowl was slowly replaced by curiosity. "Go on."

"But that wasn't enough. We needed electricity from Zim's base to power the device, but the chicken squid had damaged everything including the power supply which we couldn't fix with the creature running around. After we defeated it, well…here's what really happened…"

* * *

_Almost 12 hours ago…_

Dib opened his eyes to find himself face down on the floor with something gooey stuck to his face. Sitting up, he touched his cheek and pulled off a cheese-covered chunk of squid tentacle with feathers attached to it. Tossing it away in disgust, Dib looked around at the lingering darkness in the ships hanger. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out and reattached his head light so he could see. No one else was around except for the robot parents, who were still in pieces and rolling around in the debris laughing to themselves.

"This is way more fun than playing in the toilet!" Robot Dad called out as Robot mom chewed on a piece of cheese and spat out some feathers.

Ignoring them, Dib got to his feet and slowly made his way toward the door, taking care to step around the gooey exploded remains of the chicken squid. Once out of the hanger, Dib walked down the dark twisting hallways, trying to find a way out. He then spotted an open door that had flashing lights coming out of it and carefully approached. He looked inside and was surprised to see GIR, who also had his head light on and was fiddling with an assortment of wires from an open wall hatch that kept crackling and flashing with surges of electricity.

"Hmm, maybe dis would work!" GIR said as he crossed two wads of wires together. They sparked and blew up in his face. "Hee hee hee! Nope!"

"You, robot! What's going on? Where did Zim run off to?" Dib demanded.

GIR turned and looked blankly at Dib. "I has no idea! I just know I gots to get the lights back on before Gazy wakes up."

"Gaz!" Dib gasped. "I almost forgot! I need to get to her immediately! Where's the control room?"

"Oh dats easy!" GIR said. "You take a right, then a left, then right again, then up, down, right, right, loop de loop and do a little dance!"

Dib glared at the robot. "You have no idea do you?"

"Nope!" GIR grinned stupidly.

"Fine. I'll figure it out myself. You keep working on getting the power back. Connecting the red and green wires with the giant blue one should do the trick."

Dib turned and raced out of the room as GIR picked up more wires and waved after him. "Good luck! Tell Gazy I said to eat lots of bananas!"

Quick as he could, Dib raced down the hallways, trying to remember exactly where the control room was. With the power still not on and the hallways seeming endless, Dib's mind was racing with worry about Gaz and he was starting to fear the worst.

"Don't worry Gaz, I'm coming. Just hang in there!"

As he turned a corner, Dib heard a familiar high pitched voice, followed by a deep robotic one.

"Override warning."

"Warning power reserves at 33%-"

"Override!"

"Warning power reserves at 21%-"

"OVERRIDE!"

As Dib got closer to the voices, he noticed flashing lights and was surprised to see Zim standing over Gaz's unconscious body, his metal limbs out and surging with electricity.

"Zim?" Dib exclaimed as he ran toward the alien. "Just what are you-Ouch!"

Dib recoiled as wayward surges of electricity from Zim's PAK zapped his hand, then his nose and ear before it continued to crackle threateningly in the air around him. Backing from the commotion, Dib turned off his head light and cautiously inched over to the other side of the hallway to get a better view of Zim, who seemed to have not noticed Dib's presence as he was completely focused on Gaz. Looking over, Dib could see that she was still unconscious and no longer wearing the PAK battery, which was once again attached to Zim's PAK. Dib watched curiously as Zim continued to use his PAK to send shock wave after shock wave into Gaz's chest like a defibrillator.

"Is he trying to...shock her back to life? With his own back device?" Dib asked himself. "Can he do that? Should he be doing that?"

Even from his dark faraway hiding spot, Dib could tell that Zim's attempts to revive Gaz were taking a toll on him. Yet Zim stubbornly persisted and continued to ignore his PAK's warnings, despite it making him look more sickly by the minute. Dib couldn't help but watch in amazement, wondering just how long Zim could keep it up before his power supply ran out.

"Warning! PAK battery down to 4%..."

Eventually the alien fell to his knees, breathing heavily as his PAK issued its final warning. He talked into his wrist com for a moment in an attempt to communicate with GIR for updates on the power. After getting no answer, Zim looked as if he had finally given up.

"I...failed." Zim said, he looked sadly down upon Gaz's body before reaching out to touch her cheek.

Dib felt a surge of anger at the gesture and was about to storm over from his hiding place when Zim suddenly stood up.

"She's starting to come back! There's still a chance!"

Then, in an act that Dib never would have expected from the alien in a million years, Zim sacrificed the last of his power supply in one final attempt at reviving Gaz. Sending one last burst of electricity into her chest, Gaz lurched forward gasping for air and coughing violently. Dib was ecstatic to see her awaken but saw that it didn't last long as she quickly fainted again, collapsing next to Zim who had also passed out from his efforts. Just before Dib could process what had happen, the lights in the base came back on.

"FIXED IT!" GIR yelled from down the hall.

Taking off his head light, Dib cautiously stepped forward and felt the air for any lingering traces of electricity. Satisfied it was safe, Dib approached Zim and Gaz and was disgusted to see them practically touching hands. Grabbing Gaz by the arms, Dib carefully dragged her away from Zim and sat her up against the wall. While she was still unconscious, she appeared to be breathing relatively well on her own much to Dib's relief.

"Don't worry Gaz, I'm here now and ready to take you home...Right after I take care of one other thing."

Content that she was okay for the moment, Dib stood back up and walked toward the unconscious Zim. The alien on the other hand was in terrible shape, looking as if he had been run over by an army of chicken squids. His PAK was also blinking red, though Dib was unsure of what that meant. What he was sure of though, was that he finally had Zim where he wanted him.

"This is it. This time I'll finally be able to bring him in for sure, without any interference! Hear that Zim?" He said, leaning down toward the unconscious alien. "There's nothing you can do to escape now! At last I can show the world once and for all what you really are! Then they'll see that I was right all along for believing in the existence of alien life! Nothing could possibly ruin this moment!"

As he knelt down to grab Zim, Dib heard several loud crashing noises coming from above. Looking upward, Dib barely had time to jump out of the way as a giant fireball came crashing through the ceiling and into the ground near him. As the smoke cleared, Dib heard a coughing noise and cautiously approached the hole. He looked down to see Mini-Moose climbing out of the hole and woozily shake his antlers which were still on fire. With a small squeak, Mini-Moose floated back into the air and looked around until its blank gaze lingered on Zim. With another squeak, he flew down and pulled a cord out of the side of Zim's PAK which he then plugged into the wall. Mini-Moose then pressed the blinking red button on Zim's PAK, causing it to fully light up.

"PAK SYSTEMS REBOOTING! EMERGENCY REACTIVATION!"

With a burst of power, Zim opened his eyes and jerked upward as he gasped loudly for air. He immediately collapsed back down, letting out a ragged cough as his body slowly started to heal itself. He tried sitting up but was too weak to support his own weight, instead remaining on his hands and knees as he continued to cough and breathe heavily.

Dib looked outraged. "Oh come on! Are you kidding me? How are you STILL not dead yet?"

Zim coughed again and shot an annoyed sideways glare at Dib. "I could ask…you the same thing…human stink bag."

Dib shot him a look of pure hatred. "Well, dead or not, nothing is gonna stop me from bringing you to FBI headquarters this time! You're weak and defenseless and your base in in shambles! So just admit defeat and come along quietly before I-"

"Nyah!" Mini-Moose floated between Dib and Zim, once again staring blankly up at Dib.

"Get out of my way Moose! You're not going to-"

Mini-Moose then revealed the laser hidden in its head and aimed it at Dib, who quickly backed away.

Zim laughed between coughs. "Heh heh, think again you giant headed…uh…pointy haired thingy. As long as I have my faithful minions defending me, you will never take me from this base. So don't even try it unless you want to end up scattered all over the place like that chicken squid."

Dib clenched his jaw in anger, looking as if he were about to have an aneurysm and wanted nothing more then to wrap his hands around Zim's throat.

"Now then, I have a lot of recovering and repairs to make so I suggest you leave now, if you know what's good for you." Zim said in a semi-threatening manner.

Mini-Moose lightly jabbed Dib, who struggled with himself on whether or not to comply before finally grimacing in defeat. "Fine. I'll go then. But I will be back! You'll see! And then you'll pay!"

Dib then stepped away and made his way over to Gaz, kneeling down as he went to pick her up.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Zim shouted.

"I'm taking Gaz and going." Dib said.

"I said YOU were to go. She stays!" Zim demanded.

"What? Are you crazy? She needs medical attention!" Dib pointed out.

"And she shall get it. But not from you. Now beat it!"

"No way!" Dib said standing defiantly towards Zim. "She's my sister and I'm the one who should be taking care of her."

"That is irrelevant!" Zim declared. "She's in my base and thus is under my authority. She will benefit much more from my advanced technology then your inferior human medical doohickeys."

"Are you kidding me? You can't even stand up right now! Plus you still get confused over basic human anatomy! You'd probably end up replacing her stomach with a rubber duck or something stupid like that!"

"I don't need basic human knowledge or functioning appendages to do technical sciencey stuff!" Zim declared, as he attempted to stand up only to collapse once more. "She is staying here and that's final!"

"Okay seriously, why do you NEED Gaz to be here?" Dib demanded. "Is it because of that stupid game? You know neither one of you are in a state to play it right? Plus you don't have anything left to battle for! I've already escaped and all the Space Conqueror cartridges have been destroyed! What other possible reason could you have for-"

"Shut...up...Dib..."

Both Dib and Zim paused and looked back to see Gaz who seemed to be regaining consciousness. Before Dib could react, Zim clumsily got to his feet and stumbled toward her. He got caught on his charging cord which he quickly disconnected and pushed past Dib, finally collapsing at Gaz's side. Dib went to go pull Zim away from her but Mini-Moose floated between them, holding its laser at Dib and keeping him at bay.

Despite still being weak and in pain, Zim managed to hoist himself onto his knees so he was eye level with Gaz. He reached over and brushed back the hair from Gaz face. Her eyes fluttered open a bit, staring ahead before finally lingering on Zim. She looked as if she wanted to speak but was slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Zim…"

"It's okay Gaz." Zim said, trying to be optimistic. "Everything's alright now. I just need to get you into the lab and then I'll have you fixed right up in…no time…"

Zim glanced back toward his lab, which was partially on fire and completely smashed up, along with his entire assortment of medical tech.

"Okay, so my tech isn't exactly working now. I still have some medicine in...the supply...room..."

He looked back down the hall toward the supply room and saw that it too was smashed to pieces. That's when Zim realized every gadget and item he needed to help Gaz had been broken or destroyed by the chicken squid's rampage. And since GIR hadn't actually gotten any medical supplies earlier, he had nothing to treat her wounds or pain with. He looked back at Gaz, who had closed her eyes again and groaned as her head fell forward, resting against his chest. Zim felt his spooch tighten and carefully reached up, lightly touching the back of her head and stroking her hair with his fingers. Frowning, Zim let out a sigh as he realized what he now had to do.

Watching as Zim got closer to Gaz, Dib growled angrily. "Alright that's enough! I want you away from her right now!"

Dib marched boldly up to Zim, stopping just short of reaching him as Mini-Moose continued to float between them. Mini-moose poked its laser threateningly at Dib, who then batted the creature away in annoyance. "I don't care if your moose blows me up! Gaz is my sister and I'm the only one allowed to treat her! And there's nothing, absolutely nothing you say or do, that will prevent me from-"

"Take her."

"-rescuing her from your evil, slimy, cheese smelling-" Dib paused. "What did you say?"

"I said, take her." Zim repeated. "As stupid as your giant human brain is, you were right about one thing. I can't provide the help she needs with my base in this state. Take her home and do whatever it takes within your meager human abilities to help her. I'll send one of my minions by later to check in on her."

Dib was left speechless, unable to process what Zim had just said. "Wait so...you're just letting me take her...just like that?"

"Did I stutter? Or does your species temporarily go deaf?" Zim retorted. "Now hurry up before I reactivate my gnome security and blow you up on your way out."

Dib shook his head in disbelief. "No way! This is another one of your lame stupid tricks!"

"Stupid tricks?" Zim exclaimed.

"You can't fool me twice in one day! I know what you're trying to do!" Dib said pointing his finger at Zim. "You're using my injured sister to lure me into another trap! That's low even for you!"

"Lure you into-what nonsense are you spewing now?" Zim exclaimed. "I just said you can take your sister back, no strings attached! There's no trapping of any type going on!"

"Yeah right! Like I'm expected to believe you'll just hand Gaz over because you're 'concerned about her'? The only reason you're giving her to me because you can't heal her yourself, and you need her in good fighting condition in order to resume your game! I'll bet you're planning to kidnap her as soon as she recovers!"

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH-" Zim stopped himself and took a deep breathe in an attempt to remain calm. "All I want, is to make sure she'll be okay. Is that really so hard to believe?"

"Yes!" Dib exclaimed. "Extremely hard! Because you don't concern yourself with anyone's well-being but your own!"

"That may be but this time, I have no such agenda! Now take your sister and leave already before I throw you out myself!"

"No! I know this is a trap! And I'm not leaving until you give me one good reason why I should believe anything you say!"

Zim scowled at Dib, feeling as if he were about to blow a gasket. Wanting to show how serious he was, Zim grabbed onto the wall and hoisted himself unsteadily onto his feet. Despite how shaky he was, Zim somehow managed to kneel down and summoned all of his strength to pick up Gaz. Holding her tightly in his arms, Zim slowly and carefully making his way over to Dib, who was amazed that the alien wasn't collapsing from the effort.

Zim then stopped before Dib and held Gaz up to him. "Is she not good reason enough? You and I may have our differences Dib but right now we want the same exact thing. But since you're abnormally thick head needs convincing in order to do said thing, I shall make you a deal. If you take Gaz now and help her recover by sunset...I will turn myself in to your Earth authorities."

Dib's eyes widen in surprise as he stared down at Zim, who looked more serious then he'd ever seen the alien act before. "You're...you're serious?"

"We already established that I am! Now hurry up and take her already! My strength is starting to give out." Zim said as his knees started buckle and he slowly sank under her weight. Dib quickly took Gaz from him, watching as the alien once again stumbled to floor. Mini-Moose put away its laser and floated over to Zim, placing itself under his arm and raising him up so he was back on his feet again.

"Take me to the control room Mini-Moose." Zim commanded, the small creature squeaked in agreement, before he turned to Dib. "I will send GIR to accompany you to your home. Once she wakes, have him report back letting me know when your arrival time is. Then you can summon whatever government men you want to come take me away. I won't put up a fight."

Dib watched Zim slowly walk away and couldn't help but feel totally flabbergasted and confused by the alien's actions.

"Okay seriously, what is going on with you?" Dib called after him. "Why do you care about Gaz's well-being all of sudden? You're an evil earth-conquering psychopath who would willingly sacrifice any living creature to save his own skin! Since when do you care about-" Dib paused. "Wait."

Zim stopped walking and stood in place.

"Wait, I…I think I get it now. The reason you wanted to keep her here…why you fought so hard to protect her…you…"

Zim felt a surge of panic and closed his eyes, waiting for Dib to say the words he himself would never say.

"You want to take her back home to your leaders so they can make her your new alien queen!"

Zim's eyes shot open and he looked back at Dib in confusion. "Say what now?"

"Of course, it's so obvious now! That's why you tested her with those video games; you were trying to see if she'd be a good alien invader! And that chicken squid monster was an obstacle for her to defeat to prove her worth as a warrior! This whole thing was some big elaborate test!"

Zim glared in annoyance at Dib. "You're joking right?"

"Come on, it all makes perfect sense!" Dib pointed out. "I mean, who would purposefully leave a powerful cloning device just lying around where their incompetent robot can get to it? It's like you wanted him to create a monster that would wreak havoc on your base."

Zim scoffed. "Ha! Typical Dib with your typical Dib theories. Honestly, it's still amazes me how a life form with a head that big can be so dumb."

"Oh please, am I expected to believe you rescued Gaz out of the goodness of your heart?" Dib asked sardonically. "Or that you suddenly grew a conscious over the last few days? Heck, next thing I know, you'll be telling me that you magically fell in love with her as well. Ha! As if you were capable of feeling anything like that."

Zim felt himself freeze up again and hastily turned away so Dib, determined to not let the human see him blush. Thinking quickly, he decided to instead humor Dib's delusions.

"Yes! You are quite right about that fact Dib human! Guess your accusations were true after all!" Zim declared, amping up the dramatics. "I should have known you'd see right through my evil plan of deception and evil planning! Oh curse you Dib, you magnificent thinking meat creature, for figuring out my master plan! How dare you and such…guess I'll have to retreat and find another way to destroy you now and so on…okay you can go home now, bye."

Dib's confident smile faltered at Zim's fake lackluster reaction. "Wait, you're gonna give in just like that? Aren't you gonna try to stop me or blast me to pieces?"

"Oh yes, uh, I will blast you to smithereens you fool! You better start running, less I make you into a scorch mark on my floor!" Zim continued on in his fake tone. "I'll be a good sport and give you about a three hour head start. Go on, get started then."

Zim waited to hear footsteps but saw Dib still standing in place looking confused. Growling in agitation, Zim let go of Mini-Moose and spun Dib around and started pushing him down the hall. "I said you have a head start. Now get a move on and go help Gaz!"

"Oh come on, you expect me to believe that performance?" Dib objected as Zim continued to push him. "I mean I just revealed your master plan to make Gaz your-wait. Are you blushing?"

Dib stopped walking as he noticed a strange dark green color on Zim's face. Zim stopped shoving him and quickly turned away in embarrassment, scratching at his cheeks, just as Gaz had done earlier. That's when things finally clicked into place.

"Hang on. You...didn't save Gaz so she'd become your ruler, did you? You saved her because you're…no…no way…you're not seriously-"

"Oh will you just leave already Earth stink!" Zim shouted, turning angrily to him again. "It's morning now and you have only eleven and a half hours to make good on our deal before sunset, by which time I will have healed my body, fixed my base, and taken off into space. If you want me to uphold my end of the bargain, you better get a move on now!"

As Zim walked off again, Dib stood in place, shell shocked at having learned Zim's true motive for wanting to keep Gaz with him. His shock was then quickly replaced by intense anger.

"She would have never loved you back you know!"

Zim stopped walking and raised a skeptic eye back at Dib.

"I see your REAL true plan now. You thought that if you kept her here, played a few games, got her pizza and cozied up to her, that she'd eventually fall in love with you. Well jokes on you Zim, cause all you did was waste your time! If you really knew Gaz, you'd know she doesn't love people. She tolerates them at best. She doesn't even love our dad, or me for that matter, and we're her family! What made you think you had a chance?"

Zim said nothing and merely glared back at Dib, who continued on.

"I will accept your deal, but know I'm doing this for her, not for you. Once she recovers, I'll send for the FBI and make sure you never go near her again! Until then, stay away from us, or I'll make you wish you never came to this planet!"

As the Dib turned to leave, Zim stepped forward. "Wait!"

Dib stopped and looked back at Zim, expecting him to argue or put up a fight. "What now?"

Zim walked up to Dib, glaring at him in resentment. Pausing for a moment, Zim reached into his pocket and took out the tube of Bends-Away cream Gaz had given him and placed in on her lap.

Dib looked questioningly at Zim, who looked upon Gaz for a moment before speaking. "Don't tell her anything about this deal. Especially the fact that I saved her life or that I…." Zim stopped and cleared his throat before continuing. "As far as she knows, you're the one who saved her and defeated the creature. Got it? Good."

Dib arched an eyebrow in confusion. "Wait, you're giving me all the credit? Why? I don't get it."

Zim turned away, a sour look on his face. "I've already demonstrated enough weak and disgraceful human behaviors for one day. Being thought of as a hero would just add to that shameful list. Besides...it'll give her one less reason to come back."

He then waited until Mini-Moose hovered back under his arm and the two walked away into his control room, closing the door behind him while Dib stood with Gaz in his arms, looking utterly confused.

* * *

_Present time…_

Gaz sat still, looking flabbergasted as Dib finished his story.

"So there, now you know. Now can you please tell your minions to back off?" Dib pleaded.

Gaz said nothing and merely snapped her fingers, causing the stuffed animatronics to release Dib and retreat. Gaz sat back on her bed, thinking silently for a while over everything Dib had told her before speaking again, unable to wrap her head around the things she just learned.

"I don't get it…" Gaz said feeling confused. "You're telling me he was willing to turn himself over to the FBI just to make sure you would help me? That...that can't be right. Your dumb ears must've heard wrong."

"Hey, everything I told you was the truth! You made me swear to it remember?" Dib said, still eyeing the other stuffed animals nervously.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Gaz exclaimed. "Why would he promise something stupid like that? Further more, why would he risk his life and energy to bring me back? Zim doesn't do heroics. Most people don't! Not unless they knew there was something in it for them! I mean, what sort of nut job would risk their lives for someone they barely know if they were getting nothing in return?"

Dib arched an eyebrow. "But…isn't that exactly what you did when you saved Zim from the chicken squid?"

"That was different! He was…was…" Gaz then stopped as the reality of that situation sank in. She had indeed saved Zim from the chicken squid, but that was only because she thought she could beat it on her own. But then, why would she do that in the first place? It's not like Zim promised her anything. And she was just as incapable of feeling love as Zim was…wasn't she?

Thinking back to the alien and all the time they spent together playing games, fighting creatures and even just talking, Gaz then felt her cheek burning and her heart skip a beat. It suddenly became all too clear to her why she saved him. And why he saved her in return.

Dib meanwhile looked at Gaz with concern, unable to tell what she was thinking. "Look…I know this is confusing and a lot to take in, but don't worry about what Zim said. Soon none of it will matter."

Gaz shook herself out of thought and glanced at Dib. "Won't matter? Why?"

"Because in less than ten minutes, he won't be a threat to us anymore." Dib said confidently. "As soon as I get downstairs, I'll tell Zim's robot to call him and let him know you're okay. What he doesn't know however, is that I already called the authorities and they're on their way there right now."

Gaz raised an eyebrow. "How did you do that? I thought the police and government agencies blacklisted you years ago?"

"I left an anonymous tip through a payphone telling them that I spotted a little green man going around stealing everyone's morning newspapers. I gave them Zim's address, meaning they should be there at the same time when we call him, giving him no time to escape. Once they see he's an alien, he'll go into FBI custody along with his minions!"

"But what's the point?" Gaz asked. "He already said he'd go willingly once he knew I was okay."

"Pff, yeah right! Like I'd take Zim on his word." Dib scoffed. "At least this way, I know he'll be in custody before he gets the chance to escape. Soon it'll all be over and you won't have to worry about him kidnapping you ever again."

Gaz stared ahead for a moment and turned away deep in thought. At first she said nothing, then slowly her mouth stretched into a bizarre smile and she let out a small chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Dib asked curiously.

"It's just…I never thought I'd say something like this but…thank you Dib. Thanks for your help with everything."

Dib's face lit up with happiness. "Really? You're very welcome Gaz. I can't believe after all this time you're finally-"

"And…I'm sorry." Gaz finished.

His face fell. "For what?"

"For this." Gaz snapped her fingers and a stuffed bunny jumped onto Dib's back. It opened its mouth and shot a dart right into Dib's neck.

"OW!" Dib yelled. "Gaz! What are you dooooinggg…" He then swayed woozily before collapsed face down onto the floor as the dart took effect.

Gaz looked down at Dib and pushed him onto his side with his foot so he wouldn't suffocate. Making sure he was unconscious, Gaz carefully stood up, which was now easier since the pain pills kicked in. She went over to her drawers and grabbed new clothes which her animal minions helped her change into.

Once she finished changing and grabbing a few things, Gaz left her room and went downstairs. She immediately found GIR sitting on their living room couch, watching an episode of Dib's favorite show 'Mysterious Mysteries'.

"Today on Mysterious Mysteries, we discover a horrifying hybrid located in the far seas. A hideous creature that appears to be part cow and part dolphin, and is believed to be responsible for the dwindling supply of vegetables at your local food market! Behold the horror!"

They then showed a clip of a manatee eating a head of lettuce.

"Ooooh! She's pretty!" GIR said, gushing at the picture.

"Wow. They are really stretching for material in the 26th season aren't they?" Gaz said, crossing her arms in amusement.

GIR stopped gushing for a moment and looked behind the couch, his face immediately lighting up upon spotting Gaz.

"GAZY!" GIR exclaimed as he launched himself over the couch and onto Gaz, who let out a painful yell as GIR pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"We was so worried about you! We thought you was mincemeat! And not the yummy kind!" GIR said, oblivious to her discomfort.

"GIR…ease up!" Gaz growled as she felt pain shooting up her body and attempted to push him away.

Finally letting go, GIR jumped up and down excitedly. "I'm so glad your all better! Master will be sooooo happy! We might not go back into space after all!"

"Back into space?" Gaz asked.

"Yep! We's gonna go back home once master knows yous all better!"

"Zim's going-" Gaz's face lit up in realization. "Of course. Dib was right. Zim would never turn himself over. He just needed time to fix his base and…see if I was okay…"

A worried look crossed Gaz's face when she realized the second GIR contacted Zim, he would be heading back to his home planet forever. She couldn't let that happen…not without getting some answers first.

GIR opened up his com and was about to speak into it when Gaz grabbed his arm. "Say GIR, how about instead you and I both go see Zim in person? That way he'll know for sure I'm all better?

"Uhh I dunno…master did say he wanted me to call first…" GIR said uncertainly.

"I'll give you a stuffed bunny rabbit if you give me a lift there." Gaz said, sweetening the deal.

GIR grinned and squealed while jumping up and down in excitement. Gaz went and grabbed her animatronic bunny, giving it to GIR before climbing onto his back.

"Aw how cute!" GIR gushed as he looked back at the stuffed creature, whose eyes glowed red and jaw opened wide as it chomped onto GIR's head. "Heehee! It likes me! I can't wait to show master! Hold on tight!" GIR then activated his rockets and with one blast, they took off down the street with Gaz holding on as tightly as she could.

* * *

Some time later, Dib awoke to find himself on the floor of Gaz's room with a dart in his neck, surrounded by her creepy animatronics.

"Oh come on! How many times am I going to wind up unconscious on the floor?" Dib exclaimed as he ripped the dart out, flinching in pain as he held his neck.

He barely got to his feet when the animatronic creatures came back to life and revealed their weapons once more. Knowing they wouldn't stop without Gaz around to command them this time, Dib bolted across the room and through the door with the creatures in hot pursuit. The animals chased Dib down the stairs throughout the house, even passed a floating screen of his dad who was hovering over the kitchen table stuck on repeat, asking the kids to pass the butter.

After much running, he finally lost the animals going back upstairs and locked himself in his room. Opening the window, Dib jumped out, using his hair to grab onto a cable which allowed him to slide down to the ground. Once there, Dib immediately headed off in the direction of Zim's house. If there was one thing he knew for certain, it's that Gaz would be there looking for him and no doubt sabotage any chance he had of capturing the alien. As much as cared about her, he couldn't let that happen.


	12. A New Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaz tries to keep Zim from leaving Earth but runs into some obstacles.

Chapter 12: A New Deal

"Hi babies! How you doing? I didn't know you could fly!"

"GIR stop crashing into people and watch where you're going!"

Gaz gritted her teeth as she clung to GIR's shoulders for dear life, trying desperately not to fall off the robots back as he flew at break neck speed toward Zim's base. While she wanted to get there fast, she also wanted to get there in one piece, something that was quickly becoming impossible as GIR had little to no control in his flight pattern. In the five minutes since she left her house, GIR had crashed into several passing pedestrians, including a baby carriage containing triplets, who were luckily caught by the crossing guard before hitting the ground. Gaz especially wasn't safe from cars as GIR took the opportunity to cut one off every time he crossed the street.

"Hi cars!" GIR waved back at them. "I can make loud noises too! Wheeeee hoooo! Wheeeeee hooooo! Wheee-"

"Will you knock it off!?" Gaz shouted as she grabbed his head and faced it forward. "Concentrate on where you're goin- UPPP!"

Gaz then quickly pulled GIR's head back, causing him to flight up over an oncoming car, which swerved to avoid them. GIR blinked and then laughed hysterically. "Heeheeheehee! We was almost got squashed like bugs!"

Gaz growled angrily. "I swear, if I survive this trip I am so going to…oh no…"

Just as GIR turned down the street where Zim lived, Gaz immediately spotted two black vans with the words 'FBI' on the sides, parked outside the base along with several similar looking agents wearing black suits who gathered outside the fence. Quickly, she pulled back on GIRs head and steered him away from the vans and straight into a bush just behind two agents, one of which turned around at noise.

"Did you hear something just now?" Asked the first agent.

GIR was about to shout but Gaz quickly covered his mouth and knelt low.

"Um yeah I did. I hear a guy avoiding the subject about the money he still owes me." The second agent said bitterly.

"Will you get over it already Jerry?" The first agent said in irritation. "It was a dollar fifty for a soda, it's not that big a deal. Dock it from my paycheck why don't ya?"

Gaz let out a relieved sigh and loosened her hold on GIR, who opened his mouth wide again to talk only for Gaz to cover it up again.

"Alright agents, enough bickering." Said the head agent who was sporting an ear piece. "This mission is of utmost importance. We received an anonymous tip that will finally lead us to the maniac that's been depriving our poor tax paying citizens of their morning newspaper!"

"I heard he stole papers from several different cities." Said the second agent. "He even stole local newspapers from the old folks homes!"

All the agents gasped at once.

"What kind of sick person would rob the elderly of their morning news?" Said the first agent in disgust. "It's all those poor decrepit old people have to live for!"

"We're about to find out agent." said the head agent before he turned to the rest of the group. "Alright men, fan out and secure the perimeter! Remember, we're looking for a culprit with bright green skin! We're gonna capture this crazed scoundrel dead or alive!"

"Umm, I thought the boss said to bring the culprit in unharmed?" Asked one of the agents.

"Oh…right…I guess we'll do it the hard way then." Said the head agent in a disappointed tone. "Anyways, take your positions and ready your weapons. We're going in!"

All the FBI agents scattered and poured into Zim's front lawn, readying their weapons while picking different spots to hide in and take aim.

Gaz looked out from behind the bush and watched with worry. "We need to get them away from the base. There has to be a way to distract them. Any ideas GIR?…GIR?"

Gaz looked behind her to see that the robot had disappeared. Peeking out the other side, she spotted GIR sneaking into another bush in one of the neighbor's yards. From there, GIR watched as a small kid exited out a screen door, holding a rolled up newspaper in his arms and peering around suspiciously.

"All clear. Heh heh, the perfect crime." Thinking he was alone, the kid set the newspaper down on the ground and unrolled it, revealing several Jello cups containing green gelatin. "Finally, an entire case just for me!" He then pulled the lid off one of the cups and started slurping it up, unaware of the robot that was slowly creeping up behind him.

"Hey! Ya gonna eat all that!?" GIR called out from behind him. The kid looked over and seeing GIR stare creepily back, screamed and threw his gelatin up into the air before running from the yard.

GIR caught the gelatin before it landed. "Thank you!" He then held up the open pack and began slurping it all up greedily.

"GIR what are you doing?" Gaz spoke in harsh whisper. "There's no time for snacks! Those agents are about to find Zim and we need to think of way to…distract them…"

Gaz then noticed the green gelatin that was splattered all over GIR's face as he sucked out what remained in the plastic cup before starting on another one. Looking at the packs, Gaz came up with an idea.

* * *

Inside the base, Zim was finishing the final preparations for his long journey back to Irk. It was almost the twelve hour mark and he still had not heard back from Dib. He briefly wondered whether the human was purposely keeping him in the dark or if Gaz still had not recovered yet. Either way, Zim couldn't afford to hang around and find out. As much as he wanted to make sure Gaz was okay, he knew Dib couldn't be trusted and had to get out while he still could. After healing himself up and spending the remaining time doing repair work, Zim had finally fixed the computer and most of his base's internal systems. He didn't bother with the lawn or house security systems as he knew he'd be leaving and didn't want his tech falling into the wrong hands.

"Computer! Status report on the Voot Cruiser."

"Ship is almost fully repaired." The newly fixed Computer reported. "Fuel levels have been replenished, shields are operational, boosters have been replaced with superior upgrades and the cup holders are 80% usable. Launch time will be imminent in negative eight Earth minutes."

"Excellent." Zim nodded. "This'll be a long journey so we better make sure to have everything we'll need, less they fall into filthy human hands."

"Forgive me for asking, but shouldn't you alert the Tallests to your arrival?" Asked the computer. "They might not appreciate you showing up unannounced with news about aborting the secret mission they assigned you with."

Zim looked down grimly for a moment before replying. "No need to alert them to anything. As far as they know, I escaped from the planet before it blew up its own accord, due to the human's own stupidness."

"But won't they get suspicious when-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Zim interrupted. "Now get back to making preparations for our journey!"

"Alright fine, sheesh." Said the computer with a scoff as it went back to scanning its internal systems.

Zim meanwhile went back to fiddling with his communicator before finally closing the screen and pressing the talk button.

"GIR! Are you there? Report! Answer me you stupid robot!" Zim demanded as he yelled into the com. The only reply he got back however was silence. Zim groaned in annoyance as he had been trying to get a hold of the robot for the last ten minutes with no luck. He knew it wasn't broken as he would be hearing static and figured GIR had accidentally muted his com like he'd done so many times before.

"Fine then! If you can hear this GIR, let it be known that we're taking off in eight minutes. So you better be here by then or we're leaving without you. Be sure to initiate your self-destruct sequence if that happens."

As Zim placed the communicator back on the table, he noticed something sticking out of the corner of his glove. Rolling it up, he realized it was the wrist brace Gaz had given him which had apparently gotten loose and slid down his wrist. Not wanting the Tallest to catch him with such a primitive human attachment, Zim removed his glove and undid the straps on the brace. He stared at it for a moment before reluctantly tossing it in the nearby trash can.

"Computer, speed up preparations." Zim said as he put his regular glove back on. "I want to leave this planet as soon as possible."

"Well I would, except there appears to be some trespassers outside the base vicinity."

"What!?" Zim exclaimed. "On screen!"

The computer displayed footage of the front yard, where a black van was parked with several men in suits swarming around with guns drawn.

"What the-!? How did- Dib!" Zim growled. "I knew that filthy roach monkey would pull something like this! Computer! Activate lawn security protocol!"

"Unable to comply. You packed up all the gnome guards remember?" The computer pointed out.

"Then skip the preparations and go straight to immediate take-off!"

"Negative. Boosters require five minutes to reach full blast capacity."

"That's not soon enough!" Zim exclaimed. "Argh fine! I'll have to buy us some time. Mini-Moose!"

"Nyah!" The small creature squeaked as it floated forward.

"Monitor the controls while I go top side. As soon as the boosters are charged and I am back inside the base, hit the launch button." Zim commanded.

"Nyah?" Mini Moose asked inquisitively.

"I know we may be leaving GIR behind, but it's a risk we might have to take. In any case, prepare for an immediate departure."

"Nyah!" Mini Moose replied.

Zim then went into his nearby supply closet and pulled out one his over-sized elderly human female disguises. After slipped into it, he squeezed in the lift to take him upward.

"Alright, be on your guards. And remember Mini-Moose. If all else fails…you know where the self-destruct button is."

Zim then zipped up his suit and pressed the button on the lift, causing the doors to close and take him upward.

"Whew. Good thing I uninstalled that while making repairs." The computer sighed in relief. "Seriously, why would I operate a fail-safe that would destroy me? That's just stupid."

Mini Moose squeaked in agreement.

* * *

Outside the base, the agents began to 'stealthily' pour into Zim's front lawn, hiding around every corner and pointing their guns at every little thing that moved.

"Alright men. As soon as I kick down the door, we charge in and seize whoever's inside." Commanded the head agent. "Remember, take no prisoners!"

"But I thought that was the whole point of us being here?" Asked another agent.

"Well yes but…you know what I mean! Now get ready! On three!"

All the agents aimed their weapons at the door as the lead agent stepped forward and raised his foot toward the door.

"One…two…"

"PICK UP STICKS!"

All the agents stopped and turned to see GIR, who stood in the middle of the street, covered from head to toe in a layer of green gelatin.

"Hi Mr. Salesmen! You here to sell more vacuums?" GIR asked, laughing giddily.

"That strange metallic green kid…do you think he's the one we're looking for?" Asked one of the agents.

"Looky what I got!" GIR then held up a folded newspaper that was also covered in green goop.

"It's the paper thief! Get him men!" Commanded the lead agent.

"Yay tag! Yous all it!" All the agents rushed toward GIR who immediately ran down the street laughing and screaming.

As GIR lead all the FBI agents' around the corner, Gaz jumped out of her hiding spot in the bushes. She ran up Zim's front door and started banging on it.

"Zim! It's Gaz! Let me in now!"

She waited but heard nothing. She thought at the very least the robot parents would show up to let her in but knowing Zim, they were probably still broken.

"Alright…time to do this the hard way…"

Backing up till she almost even with the fence, Gaz took a deep breathe, stuck out her shoulder and raced forward, intending to ram the door down.

Suddenly, the front door opened, revealing Zim in a fat old lady costume holding a pie tin.

"Hello government humans! Would you like a bite of my fresh baked pine cone pie-AAAAIIIIIII!"

*CRASH*

Gaz ran hard into Zim, causing them to tumble back over each other and land on the floor with Zim on his back and Gaz on top.

"Ugh…hey what's the big ide-"

As Zim opened his eyes, he was surprised to find Gaz staring back at him in equal surprise, their faces only an inch apart. Quickly they jump back from each other.

"What the-what are you doing here?" Zim demanded.

"I'll answer that when you tell me what you're doing in a dress." Gaz responded as she looked at Zim's pathetic get up.

"It's a disguise of course. Brilliant I know." Zim said as he slid out of the fat suit and tossed off his wig. "I was trying to get rid of those government men when you so rudely crashed into me."

"Oh, you mean that thing I did, only better?" Gaz asked as she pointed outside. Zim looked out the door to see the FBI agents as they chased a green colored GIR back and forth down the street, all while the robot laughed joyously.

"You're welcome by the way." Gaz replied crossing her arms.

Zim scowled as he slammed the door shut. "I'm not thanking you."

"Gee, what a surprise." Gaz said sarcastically.

"I'm not thanking you because you shouldn't even be here!" Zim exclaimed. "Seriously, why did you come back? Was this GIR's idea? That worthless robot is getting such a time out if or when he gets back!"

"GIR had nothing to do with it." Gaz stated. "Coming here was all my idea. I…wanted to see you. I needed to see you…"

Zim paused, slightly taken aback. "You did?"

"GIR told me you were planning to take off as soon as you learned of my recovery. I couldn't let that happen…not without getting some answers first."

Zim looked at her suspiciously. "And what answers are you looking for exactly?"

"Like why you saved me." Gaz said. "And why you were willing to kill yourself to do so."

"CURSE THAT WORTHLESS DIB AND HIS BIG FAT-" Zim quickly stopped himself, and cleared his throat as he tried to resume a calm demeanor. "Um, that is, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh come on, don't pull that junk!" Gaz demanded. "Dib told me what happened after I blacked out-"

"LIES! ALL LIES!" Zim exclaimed. "You of all beings should know that his fat head is filled with nothing but stupid and liiiess!"

"You're the one who's full of lies!" Gaz said sticking an accusing finger at him. "And I'm not leaving here until you answer me honestly! I have all day to wait. You only have until those FBI agents manage to capture GIR. So what's it gonna be?"

Zim stared at her for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Okay you win then. I guess I have no choice but to- COMPUTER SEIZE HER!"

"Huh?" Gaz then looked up as a metal arm appeared in the ceiling and attempted to grab her. Gaz rolled out of the way and attempted to dodge but was soon seized by the arm.

"Computer, prepare the escape pod and put Gaz inside. Set a course for Dib's place and then get ready for take-off."

"Why can't you just tell me the truth?" Gaz demanded as she struggled against the arm. "Is this about your pride again? I won't tell any of your stupid alien buddies if that's what you're worried about."

Zim paused and glared at her. "Whatever you think happened during that time is wrong! Dib did all the fighting and saving and heroics. I merely watched on the sidelines and laughed in amusement while he did the dirty work. Like a typical Irken does."

As Zim walked away, Gaz looked down to see a small pod appeared from below the floor. As it brought Gaz towards it, she quickly tried thinking of a way out. Reaching into her pockets, she scrambled around for something that could help. Unfortunately all she had was her pain cream, her game slave and…

"Wait!"

Zim stopped and looked back at Gaz and was surprised to see her holding up a small familiar looking piece of tech; the USB stick he had given her with the Irken symbol on it.

"Before you send me back home and leave forever, there's one last thing I want from you."

"And that would be?" Zim asked.

Gaz looked at him sternly. "A rematch."

Zim arched his eyebrow. "A rematch?"

"You and I never finished Super Space Conquerors, which means I still beat you from the first time we played. That still makes me the superior gamer." Gaz said waving the stick at him. "If you leave now, that's one less title you get to flaunt on your home world and another shameful secret to hide from your leaders."

Zim glared at her resentfully. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He could lie to his fellow beings all he wanted but in the end, Gaz had still defeated him and he couldn't return without avenging his Irken honor. While he remained annoyed by her persistence, he was also secretly impressed by her ingenuity and cunning.

"Alright then small human. Say I accept your challenge to a rematch. Aside from bragging privileges, what else will I get when I win?"

Gaz let out a small breath of relief that he was considering the challenge and thought quickly about his reward. "If you win…I'll….I'll do whatever one thing you want me to do. Within reason. And if that thing includes letting you escape back to your planet, then so be it."

Zim thought over her proposal, debating on whether or not it was worth the risk. "Interesting…and let's say on the small to almost minuscule chance you manage to win?"

"You will tell me the truth." Gaz replied as she stared straight into his eyes. "The real truth."

Zim stared back into her determined eyes and felt his spooch twist and tighten with excitement. He quickly shook the feeling off and smirked. "Very well then, I accept. Computer! Release the Gaz human and set up the downstairs screen for gaming! Let our rematch commence!"

The computer arm set Gaz back on the ground and activated the chair lift. Zim stepped into it and gestured toward Gaz. "Shall we then?"

Gaz glared at Zim before stepping into the lift. As it began its decent downward, Gaz noticed out the corner of her eye, a strange grin forming on the alien's face. "What are you smirking about?"

Zim chuckled arrogantly at her. "I was just remembering how you once swore you would never face me in rematch. And now only a few days later, you've practically begged me for one. The irony is just so satisfying."

Gaz scowled. "You are so going down stink breath."

"I look forward to the attempt, brooding wench." Zim retorted.

As Gaz turned angrily away, scratching at her reddening cheeks, Zim continued to grin in triumph, excited that he'd finally gotten another chance to prove himself, not just to his people, but to Gaz as well.

* * *

Outside the base toward the end of the street, Dib had finally arrived huffing and puffing.

"I…made it." Dib huffed between sentences. "I just…hope Gaz…hasn't…wait, what's that noise?"

He heard increasingly loud screaming which was then followed by GIR, who came bursting out of a nearby bush, still covered in the green gelatin as well as leaves and twigs. The robot raced forward, running right into Dib and knocking him backward. The robot sat up and after spotting Dib, smiled widely.

"Hi big head! You want some jello?" GIR then wiped some gelatin off his body and smeared against Dib's face, getting the goop all over his clothes and body.

"Yech! Get off me!" Dib exclaimed shoving GIR away. "Ugh, you got slime all over my favorite shirt! I look like I just came off some lame game show!"

As he stood back up to wipe himself off, a bunch of FBI agents came bursting through the bush, their guns drawn as they searched for the robot.

"He's gotta be around here somewhere!" Shouted one of the agents as he pointed his gun around. "I saw the goopy footprints stop around here."

GIR let out a shriek, took a rolled up newspaper out of his head, and hurled it at Dib, smacking him in the head. GIR then leaped into another bush just as the agents approached Dib.

"Ah ha! There he is! Get him men!"

"No wait! I'm not-AHHHH!" Dib cried out as the agents tackled him to the ground and kept him pinned.

Soon all the other agents including their leader showed up to witness as Dib was put in cuffs and dragged toward their van.

"So, thought you could get away with it eh?" Asked the head agent. "Well this is the last time you'll be depriving some poor old lady of her Sunday puzzles! You're going away for a long time mister!"

"No wait! You got the wrong guy!" Dib pleaded. "You GOT THE WRONG GUY!"

They then threw Dib into the back of their van and drove away, all while GIR sat on the fence watching in amusement while he sucked the rest of his Jello stash out of the bottom of his foot.

* * *

Down in Zim's base, the computer was downloading all the data from Gaz's flash drive in an attempt to recreate the game. While Zim stood before the screen tapping his foot impatiently, Gaz sat off to the side staring at the wall deep in thought. Despite needing to be focused on the game at hand, her mind kept lingering on Zim and whether or not she'd be able to beat him. Normally Gaz was absolutely confident when it came to gaming, as she had yet to lose to anyone regardless of the game or system. Now however, she found herself doubting her abilities, not because she considered Zim superior in any way, not by a long shot, but because of what her win would result in.

 _"What if I win and he does actually tell the truth?"_  Gaz thought to herself.  _"What if it's something I don't want to hear? What if it's something I do want to hear?"_

While she was determined to get the truth out of Zim about why he saved her, at the same time she was worried about which version of the truth she would get. If it turned out Dib had been lying and Zim didn't save her, she knew she'd feel relieved yet also mad that she had wasted her time and sacrificed her pride for a rematch. And yet, for some reason, it also made Gaz feel somewhat…sad. She knew the Irken was uncaring and selfish, yet the thought that she may be the exception in his self-serving existence gave her a special feeling she had never experienced before.

And yet, what if the truth was that he DID save her? If it were for personal gain, then she wouldn't be surprised. True she'd feel used and manipulated but it was something she'd totally expect of Zim. But what if that wasn't the case? What if it was for the reason Dib had told her. That prospect probably scared Gaz the most, as she had no idea how she'd react to it. Would she run, reject him, or possible reciprocate it? Would she ask him to leave or stay? The possibilities bothered Gaz so much she didn't hear Zim as he began shouting at her from across the room.

"HEY! DIB-SISTER!"

Gaz finally snapped out of it and turned to Zim. "Huh? What?"

"I said, the computer had finished replicating the game and we're ready to play. You still want to do this don't you?"

Gaz paused as her thoughts began to swirl in her mind again and she began to have second thoughts. Zim could see the conflicted look on her face and became worried that she was going to back out of their deal. Thinking quickly, Zim grinned smugly at her. "Oh I see…you're just afraid that I'll actually beat you this time! Don't tell me our battle with the chicken squid has turned you chicken as well. Eh? LITTLE Gaz?"

A flash of anger appeared in Gaz's eyes as Zim's insult landed a direct hit. Her concerns now totally overridden by her competitive nature, Gaz angrily clenched her fist and stood up defiantly. "Nobody calls me a chicken you pathetic alien worm! I'm gonna wipe the floor with you!"

Zim grinned confidently. "Bring it on Earth scum."

Their determinations renewed, both sat down and grabbed the controllers from the computer as the starter screen for Super Space Conquerors 2 flashed on the monitor.

"I had the computer replicate the final level of the game." Zim explained. "All of our battle gear and power ups have been removed as well, so it will be a fair one on one battle. The rules from before apply; no special one-hit codes or cheating of any kind is allowed."

"Fine with me." Gaz said, gripping her controller with determination. The game then started, revealing their alien characters from before as they rushed toward the final level of the game which was inside the White House. The two played silently for a moment when a thought occurred to Gaz.

"You know, I was just thinking." Gaz said as her character raced forward shooting a bunch of flying aliens. "If your computer could replicate any level from the start, why did you insist on playing the whole game with me?"

Zim paused at the question, causing his character to trip over a hidden alien gopher hole and explode. "Well I…I thought we could…you know, that is…um...Shut up and play the game already human!"

As Zim began aggressively tapping buttons on his controller to revive his character, Gaz noticed his face became a slightly darker green. Intrigued by his reaction, Gaz continued to blast her way into the White House, eager to see what the final level had in store as well as what other slip ups Zim would reveal before their final match.


	13. And the Winner is...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim and Gaz take on the final obstacle.

Chapter 13: And the Winner is…

It took Mini-Moose nearly ten minutes but he finally managed to track down two lone cans of un-opened Fizzy Poop for his master and their guest, neither of which paid him the slightest bit attention as they were completely engrossed in their video game. Mini Moose floated to the top of Gaz's chair and sat down, watching them with interest as they each drank their sodas in one gulp, let out two simultaneous burps and tossed the cans behind them before resuming their game.

Zim and Gaz were now on the edge of their seats, tapping aggressively at their controllers. Their characters had finally beaten the last wave of monsters and were ready to enter the final boss level; the Oval Office.

"Okay, time to see what this 'super surprise ultimate twist ending' is all about." Gaz said as she pressed the button to open the doors. "According to Game Pitt Magazine, it's a creature that we'd never see coming."

"Ha! As if this 'mystery creature' could pull one over on Zim!" The alien said. "Zim is always consistently observant, awaringly aware, and constantly vigilant- WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING?"

Upon entering, they discovered a towering monster figure that stood over the president who cowered in fear.

"Oh thank goodness! Please, save me from this horrible beast!" Cried out the president as he quickly hid behind his desk. The creature slowly turned around and revealed itself. To Gaz and Zim's surprise, it was a giant mutant that had the body of a chicken and the head of a squid.

"Oh I am soooo going to kill this thing." Gaz said with excited determination.

"Pff! Please." Zim scoffed. "You couldn't even kill the real creature. I'm the one that actually blew it up. If anyone's going to defeat this foul beast, it'll be Zim!"

"As if! Just stay out of my way green boy or I'll incinerate you."

"Over my dead body you will!" Zim retorted.

"That's exactly what I said!" Gaz shot back.

The two immediately started blasting at the monster, attacking it with their weapons and bare fist, neither one relenting as the creatures health bar went lower and lower.

Finally after half an hour of fighting, with one last move, Gaz managed to succeed in delivering the final blow to the monster, slicing it cleanly in half with her weapon.

"Yes! I got it!" Gaz shouted in triumph as the creature disintegrated.

"Hey no fair! You hit the x button before I could!" Zim complained.

"Then hit it faster next time." Gaz said snidely.

Zim growled in anger and threw his controller to ground. "This battle was too easy anyway! Zim was hoping for more of a challenge! Honestly this whole thing now feels like a complete waste of-"

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" The president said as he came out from behind the desk. "Now that that hideous creature is gone, there's nothing to stop me from…taking over this world myself!"

"WHAT!?" Gaz and Zim gasped together. They then watched as the president ripped off his wig and flesh mask and grew several feet taller into a giant crab-like creature.

"All hail the crab people of the planet Crabpeopleopolis!" Declared the creature in a groggy voice.

"Whoa!" Gaz said, her eyes wide with shock.

"Okay, I did not see that one coming." Zim admitted as he picked his controller back up.

" _The_ _president has turned out to be evil! Work together to take him down!"_  Said the game voice.

Gaz and Zim paused and looked briefly at each other. Grinning, they shared a nod and immediately readied their characters who drew their weapons and began fighting the giant crab creature side by side.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the base towards the end of the street, one of the FBI vans came speeding back down the road and screeched to a halt at the curb. The side door opened and Dib went flying out, landing among some nearby garbage cans.

"Owww…" Dib groaned as he turned over in the spilled garbage.

"We should've known you'd pull something like this Dib." Said the head agent as he leaned out of the van. "When the Federal Bureau says to cease all contact, we mean CEASE All CONTACT! Pull another stunt like this again and we'll send you where we send all the other nut jobs that try to take up precious government time and resources."

"You mean that secret prison hidden inside the heads of Mount Rushmore?" Dib asked.

The agent froze and quickly took out his phone. "Sir, the location of the secret prisons been compromised! Blow up the heads and move everything to the giant ball of twine! Stat!"

Slamming the door, the agents drove off, leaving Dib alone.

Dib let out an agitate growl and stormed off toward Zim's base. "I swear, if one more thing happens to stop me from getting in that base, I'm gonna-"

"Hi Miss Mary Bighead!"

Dib looked up to see GIR sitting casually on top of the fence, looking down with usual cheery expression. "Have a fun trip to the zoo?"

"You! You got me arrested and nearly prosecuted by the FBI you stupid robot!" Dib accused him.

"And you gots me eaten by a chicken monster." GIR said casually, his grin still plastered on his face as he swung his legs back and forth.

Dib let out a low growl. "Fine. You had your fun, but now you need to step aside. I know Zim has you guarding this place, but I'm getting inside no matter what! And I don't care what you do to stop me!"

"Hmmm….okay you win! They's downstairs playing video games." GIR said helpfully.

Dib blinked. "Wow really? You're letting me go in just like that?"

"Uh huh." GIR nodded.

Dib eyed the robot suspiciously but nonetheless approached the door. "Okay then. Here I go."

As Dib slowly opened the door, he heard a low growling noise from inside followed by the sounds of chewing.

"Oh by the way, watch out for mah bunny rabbit." GIR pointed out. "He's playing on the couch."

"Bunny rabbit?" As Dib glanced into the living room, he was horrified to see one of Gaz's creepy rabbit animatronics tearing apart a couch cushion with its teeth. The thing turned its head and dropped the cushion upon seeing Dib before rushing toward the frightened human boy.

"Not again! Ahhhhhhhhh!" Dib screamed as he across the lawn and around the neighborhood with the bunny in hot pursuit.

GIR meanwhile pulled a bucket of popcorn out of his head and started eating it while watching the chase in amusement. "Play nice you two!"

* * *

"DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE! WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?" Zim shouted in frustration as he tapped the controller repeatedly trying to take down the giant crab monster president.

"Go down already you overgrown entree!" Gaz shouted as her character attempted to hit its weak spot, only to be whacked back by the creature's claws. "OH COME ON!"

The alien crab monster proved to be a lot tougher than they expected. Between its hard shell and large claws, Zim and Gaz could barely get a hit in or cause any significant damage. Still they persisted and eventually the monsters health bar started to slowly drop.

"Man my thumb is getting all crampy." Gaz complained as she shook her thumb. "You sure we can't enable some cheat codes? We're never gonna beat this thing at the rate we're going."

"That would violate our agreement." Zim said as he continued tapping away despite his own sore thumb. "If we're to beat each other fair and square, we need to abide by- WHAT IN BLAZES?"

"WHAT THE?" Gaz gasped. On screen, the monsters health bar suddenly shot back up and the crab sprung back to life like new.

"Sorry weaklings but you were taking too long. So I used my powers of osmosis to grow myself a new shell!" Said the cocky crustacean.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Gaz exclaimed.

"Alright that's it! All bets are off!" Zim shouted angrily. "If this game intends to cheat to win, then so will we! Computer! Enable all cheat codes for Super Space Conquerors 2! We're taking this thing down if it kills us!"

"Enabling content." The computer said as it downloaded all codes into the game, causing it to go fuzzy for a moment. Once done, Zim and Gaz had all their old equipment and powers back.

"Ready to serve up some shellfish?" Zim asked her.

"Bon Appetite." Gaz smirked, much to Zim satisfaction.

* * *

Dib ran screaming all over the yard trying desperately to find an escape route with the rabbit animatronic in hot pursuit. Every time he thought he found a way out, the rabbit would cut him off and either try to take a bite out of him or shoot him with its laser eyes. Finally Dib was able to lose the creature by turning sharply at the last second when the rabbit attempted to pounce on him, causing it to crash head first into a wall. As Dib looked around desperately for another escape route, his foot sunk down slightly into the ground causing him to trip. Looking closely at the ground, he noticed it was a crudely covered up hole.

"The gnome holes…these will lead me right into the base!" Dib said in realization.

He heard the bunny wrench itself free out of the wall and let out a loud shriek. Wasting no time, Dib stomped in the grass cover and slid down the hole, a feat that proved a little difficult as his head nearly got stuck going down. Shortly after he disappeared, the rabbit approached and scanned around the boy. Once it spotted the hole in the ground, the creature dove down after him.

GIR, who had been messily eating a Popsicle, saw everything that happened and stopped eating. "Uh oh…masters not gonna be happy bout dis…."

Sticking his Popsicle back in his head, GIR jumped off the fence and fell through another gnome hole in the lawn, hoping he'd be able to cut off Dib before he got to Zim.

* * *

Zim and Gaz were now on their feet, standing as close as they possibly could to the computer screen. They were tapping their controllers so hard and so fast, their thumbs were practically a blur. With each passing second, their characters unleashed combo after combo upon the giant crab creature, its health bar now dropping drastically until it was in the red.

"Incoming claw, 2 o'clock!" Gaz shouted as her and Zim's character jumped out of the way of the swinging claw.

"Watch out for the shell breath!" Zim said as he and Gaz activated their shields, protecting them from the barrage of mini shells blasted from the crab creature's mouth.

"Attack its right leg!" Gaz commanded as the two lunged for the creature's lower right leg and began blasting it. They barely got a few hits in when it knocked them back. Gaz glanced briefly at their health bars which were getting as dangerously low. "We need to finish this thing now before it heals or finishes us off first."

Zim noticed the urgency as well and quickly wracked his brain for a solution, thinking back to all the cheat codes and combos he had downloaded. After a few moments, he came up with the solution.

"I got it! A way to defeat the creature! There's a very complex dual combo move that will requires both of us working together. The timing has to be perfect but if we pull this off, it'll wipe out the creatures remaining health."

Gaz looked intrigued by the plan and nodded. "Okay then, how do we do it?"

"I'll distract the creature while you find a way to get on its back. We have to make sure it's lined up perfectly with the floor symbol or it won't work. Use the book shelves to propel yourself upward."

"Piece of cake." Gaz grinned as she moved her character to jump up on the bookshelf while Zim started running circles are the creature to buy Gaz time.

Once Gaz had gotten on the creatures back and was in perfect position, Zim shouted "NOW!"

Pressing X at the same time, both their characters drew their weapons and attacked at once.

"Up!" Zim shouted. "Right!"

"Left!" Gaz shouted. "Square!"

"Circle!" They both said together.

With two fantastic swipes, their characters cut through the giant crab, finally destroying it.

"We did it?" Zim exclaimed surprise before turning excitedly toward Gaz. "WE DID IT!"

"We killed the president!" Gaz exclaimed joyfully as she threw her arms around Zim, who in his excitement picked her up and spun her in the air before pulled her in close for a celebratory hug. The two laughed joyously, before suddenly becoming aware how close they were to one another and pulled back slightly. Zim's face became flushed when he realized he still had his arms around Gaz's waist while she had her hands resting on his shoulders. Yet neither one released their hold and instead found themselves looking into each other's eyes as a sudden heat suddenly grew between them.

Before either could do anything about it, the game spoke up.

" _Congratulations! You have successfully worked together to destroy the evil president and saved the world from his tyranny! Now fight each other to the death to decide who gets to enslave all of mankind!"_

Zim and Gaz shared a reluctant look as they slowly released and backed away from each other, grabbing their controllers as they sat back down.

"Well then…guess this is it." Zim said.

"Yeah, guess it is..." Gaz agreed.

"Strange. After the crab monster, this feels a little anti-climactic." Zim admitted.

"Yeah…totally lame." Gaz agreed.

Both sat in an awkward silence till Zim cleared his throat. "So uh…shall we then?"

Gaz sighed. "Yeah, sure..."

They then pressed play to start their final one on one battle, neither looking particularly thrilled by what they had to do but ready to do it nonetheless.

* * *

Dib crawled desperately through the underground pipes, trying to find a way out. He heard scraping noises and turned to see the bunny crawling its way towards him. Panicking, Dib scurried ahead quickly, looking for any sort of escape route. Suddenly, a grate he was crawling over gave way and he fell down the long winding pipe with the bunny in hot pursuit.

While Dib went careening down a pipe into the lower part of the base, Zim and Gaz were battling each other in the final round. It was the fight Zim had been preparing for since Gaz beat him in the first game a couple days ago. And yet, Zim wasn't enjoying it near as much as he had hoped. As he and Gaz mashed buttons, unleashing attack upon attack against the other, Zim felt hollow, like it was a fight that wasn't even worth his time. And yet he wanted it so badly before. Why didn't it feel right now?

Gaz meanwhile, noticed Zim's lack of enthusiasm and frowned in annoyance. Although she had never been looking forward this battle, she had hoped it'd be a little more worthwhile then Zim was making it. His attitude was especially irritating considering how obsessed he'd been in getting her to this point and all he had put her through, only to flake out at the end. Even as her character continued to wail on his, she got no satisfaction from it as Zim barely seemed interested in winning now. She knew she had to fix this somehow.

"You know…we don't have to do this." Gaz spoke up.

Zim snapped out of thought as he glanced at her. "Huh?"

"We can just call off the wager now and end this fight. We both already proved what superior gamers we are and that we can take on any gross alien thing that comes our way. Why don't we just leave it at that?" Gaz asked.

Zim sat there silently and stared ahead, as if he were actually considering the proposal.

"Besides." Gaz continued, a faint evil gleam appearing in the corner of her eye. "The way you're playing right now, we both know I'd end up winning this game anyways. At least if we call things off, you'd save yourself the shame and embarrassment from losing a second time. I mean, there's nothing wrong with only being second best right?"

Zim suddenly clenched his controller in anger and turned to Gaz, grinding his teeth in rage. "What did you say to me human?"

Gaz remained calm and repeated herself. "I said, nothing wrong with being second best right?"

"You fool!" Zim yelled at her. "Zim does not settle for second best! Zim fights to win! And if you think I was holding back before, then just you wait!"

With a few quick taps, Zim's character sprung to life and was fighting with a whole new determination. Gaz smirked triumphantly and began fighting with just as much vigor, eager to see what Zim was made of.

* * *

When Dib finally fell out of the pipe, he landed back in the hanger room. There he noticed the Voot Cruiser was getting its last repairs done by the computers robot arms. He then heard a scraping noise followed by shrieking as the bunny fell out of the pipe as well and lunged toward Dib. Quickly Dib raced toward the Cruiser and jumped through the open door, shutting it before the rabbit could get in. Dib climbed over to the driver seat but could barely sit down before the rabbit jumped onto the windshield and blasted it with its laser. The glass was laser proof however so the creature instead began smashing its claws against the glass.

"Why won't this thing leave me alone?" Dib yelled out in aggravation.

Looking down at the controls, Dib used his knowledge of the ships blueprints to activate it and get it flying in the air. Dib then found the weapon controls and tried blasting the aggressive creature off the windshield. Unfortunately the guns couldn't reach it as the creature was moving around too much to get a decent shot. Meanwhile the rabbit continued to pound against the glass and was starting to make a crack in it. With little time left to think, Dib grabbed the controls and flew the ship toward the hallway, hoping he remembered his way to the control room and would be able to shake the rabbit off along the way.

Back at the fight, Zim and Gaz were quickly becoming evenly matched. Since they all knew the basic moves, they caused an equal amount of damage to the other, with neither one maintaining the advantage. Finally, after Zim failed to properly do an attack combo, Gaz's character succeeded in knocking Zim's character down, its health bar now at one percent and blinking dangerously.

"Yes! I got you now!" Gaz declared triumphantly.

"No!" Zim shouted at his character as it struggled to recover from an attack. "Come on, get up you worthless excuse for a simulation, GET UP!"

Finally Gaz had Zim where she wanted him. One more attack and it would be all over for the Irken. Gaz would maintain her title and Zim would have to answer any question she asked him. As she pressed the jump button and began the attack combo, she caught sight of Zim's face out the corner of her eye. He truly was panicking, desperately trying to revive his character and looking terrified, as if his own life were on the line. In that moment of pity, Gaz's thumb hesitated over the final button for a few moments before she finally pressed it.

On screen, her character mistimed the final attack move and fumbled through the air, having done the combo incorrectly. It gave Zim enough time for his character to recover and soon he was launching a new attack combo upon Gaz's character. This time, Zim did it right and was about to deal the final blow.

"Yes! Finally! Zim's about to do it! Victory will finally be mi-"

*CRASH*

Suddenly the Voot Cruiser came crashed through the doors, causing Zim and Gaz to stop their came. The ship skidding to a halt just short of Zim and Gaz's chair, its windshield now shattered and inside now smoking. Dib went flying out of the front seat and landed hard on top of the computer's dashboard, causing the screen to slightly flicker. The robot bunny also crawled out of the ships wreckage and flung itself forward, also landing on the dashboard. The two stumbled over each other, Dib screaming as the rabbit attempted to maul him, causing them both to step on and press buttons which was causing the game and screen to freeze and go flicker dangerously.

"What the-get off my computer Earth scum!" Zim yelled as Dib jumped off and ran past him with the bunny chasing close behind. The creature began using its laser to zap Dib who barely avoided being hit.

"Dib what are you doing!?" Gaz yelled. "Stop antagonizing my rabbit!"

"Me!?" Dib cried out indignantly as he stopped again in front of the computer. The rabbit took the moment and fired a laser straight at Dib, who dove out of the way at the last possible second. The laser hit the screen and zapped down onto the control panel, causing it to explode and the game to finally shut down.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Zim screamed out. "My game! You filthy creatures destroyed my game!"

Growling angrily, Zim summoned his metal limbs and grab the rabbit, holding it high above his head so the thing wouldn't attack.

"Sorry Gaz but your bunny creature is going into time out…by which I mean the sun!"

Zim then tossed it into a nearby air chute, shutting the door and hitting a nearby button, which launched the creature into the atmosphere and directly into the sun.

Gaz crossed her arms in annoyance. "Great. You owe me a new rabbit minion stink breath."

Dib finally stopped running when he saw the creature was gone and sighed in relief. "Heh! Finally! It's gone. Now I can get back to my mission of capturing-"

Dib was cut off as GIR suddenly fell from a pipe in the ceiling and landed on top of him, incapacitating the boy. GIR barely noticed and looked around obliviously. "Hey master! Have you seen mah bunny rabbit?"

"GIR! Get that filthy human out of my sight!" Zim commanded. "Stick him in a closet till I decide what to do with him!"

"Oookie dokie!" the robot said, saluting before as he dragged a groaning Dib out of the room.

"I will…get you…Zim!" Dib gargled out. "If it's…the last thing…I…" The doors then closed before Dib could finish, leaving Zim and Gaz alone in the room.

Zim quickly went back to check on the computer and looked crestfallen as he held up the exposed wires and circuitry. He looked up at the screen, which had a giant smoking hole in it and at the game system which was completely fried.

"Computer! How long before repairs are made?" Zim asked.

"Repairs will be done in-*tssh*seven *tssh* hundred *tssh* thousand*TSSSHH* ELEVENTY BILLION HOURS!"

As the computers voice gave way to static, Zim clenched his fists and jaws in anger and screamed loudly "CURSE YOU DIIBBBBBBBB!"

As Gaz watched the alien cry out in frustration, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Strangely, she had felt nothing when their game was destroyed. If anything, it was a tremendous load off her shoulders because now it was finally over.

"Well, if that's it, I guess I should cut my losses and go home then." Gaz said as she turned to leave. "Pretty sure at some point my dad will finally notice I'm gone. Do what you want with Dib, just make sure to mail his remains back home so I can experiment on them later."

As she made her way toward the lift, Zim stood in front blocking her way. "Wait! You can't leave yet!"

Gaz arched her eyebrow. "Why not? We can't play the game anymore. There's no point in you keeping me here. Let's just say you win and leave it at that."

"No! I mean, there must be a way to determine who wins! We could…we could…" Zim thought quickly. "We can play chess! Or checkers! Or Yahtzee! There must be some dice around here somewhere…Computer! Manufacture some dice!"

Gaz growled in annoyance. "Look Zim! I'm tired, my thumb is sore and quite frankly I'm getting sick of this room! I just want to go home already!"

"Out of the question! I need to prove I'm the best! And I won't let you leave this place until that happens!" Zim said putting his hands on her shoulders.

Gaz scowled at him and roughly shoved him away. "Ugh! Enough of this already! What is with you? Why are you really so intent on keeping me here? What do you want from me?"

"I want…I want…GAAHH!" Zim yelled throwing up his hands in frustration. "I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME YOU EVIL DIRT CHILD!"

"Done what to you?" Gaz asked in confusion.

"Don't play coy with me! I want to know what sort of disgusting human ailment you've cursed me with!" Zim elaborated. "Ever since our first time playing together, I've been feeling sick and oozy and…floaty around you! And there's a strange tightening in my squeedily spooch every time you so much as look at me! Tell me now, what sort of filthy human disease have your evil spooch piercing eyes infected me with?"

"Excuse me?" Gaz asked, annoyed by the accusation. "I haven't 'infected' you with anything. If you ask me, your brain has been infected with crazy."

"You did something, I know you must have!" Zim said with an accusing glare. "My bio-functions haven't been normal in days! Even now, I can feel myself trembling at the mere sight of you! Explain how you're doing this!"

"I'm not doing anything!" Gaz exclaimed. "In case you hadn't noticed, I've was trying to stay away from you during the last couple of days! You're the one who keeps coming to me and dragging me into your insane alien schemes! How is it my fault that you keep getting a weird sick feeling every time you look at-"

Gaz then paused as the words sank in. Her face fell in realization as she remembered Dib's words and she looked at Zim with shock and panic. "Wait…are you saying you... no way…"

"What? What is it? Tell me!" Zim demanded.

"Dib was right…" Gaz then stepped away from Zim, looking slightly shaken. "You  _are_  in love with me."

Zim paused as he registered her words, his face quickly flushing a deep green with embarrassment. Of all the things he had been accused of over the years, this was one thing he had never expected. Trying to hide his discomfort, Zim tossed back his head and laughed in a loud mocking tone.

"AHAHAHA! Me, Zim? An Irken elite solider, falling in love with a dirty, lowly human? Don't make me laugh...again."

"I didn't want to believe it but, it all makes sense now." Gaz said as she thought over everything that happened in the last couple days. "The stalking, the traps, the game…you were trying to lure me here to get close to me. This whole thing is your weird, demented version of a date!"

"What the-This isn't a date!" Zim objected. "I just…just…wanted to defeat you in the comfort of my own home! Is that a crime?"

"Then why did you blush just now when I asked if you were in love with me?" Gaz asked. "Why are you so eager to keep me in your base? And why did you nearly kill yourself trying to save my life? ANSWER ME!"

"Well I….because….SILENCE!" Zim screamed, finding no plausible explanation. "Enough of these wild accusations! Whatever you think I feel toward you, you're wrong! Irkens don't fall in love. Especially with worthless, inferior, low-life beings like you!"

Gaz's eye twitched before she started moving defiantly toward Zim, who suddenly looked nervous and moved backwards until he was practically against the wall. A fearful sweat overtook him as Gaz got right in his face, practically staring him down before responding. "Inferior huh? Worthless am I?"

Zim tried to run but Gaz grabbed him but the scruff of his shirt and pinned him firmly against the wall.

"Then I guess you won't react when I do this!"

Gaz then moved her hands up to Zim's face and pulled him toward her, placing her lips firmly over his and kissing him as hard as she could.

Zim's eyes widened in shock once he realized what Gaz was doing. Quickly he tried pushing her off but Gaz responded by grabbing his arms and pinning them up against the wall, leaving him helpless to fight back.

As Zim's eyes darted around fretfully, looking for something he could pry Gaz off with, the warmth from her lips soon overtook his own, spreading across his face and throughout his entire body. Suddenly he felt the tightness in his spooch loosen and expand, replacing his panicked anxiety with an intensely warm fuzzy feeling. It began to overload Zim's senses, giving him a feeling of euphoria that he was quickly giving in to. Blinking slowly, Zim's eyes softened and he started relaxing his arms.

Before he could give in completely, Gaz unexpectedly pulled away and released her grip on Zim, who stumbled to the ground onto his knees. Gaz froze, looking momentarily stunned by her own actions and quickly turned away, clapping her hands over her mouth as she tried to hide her beet red face. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest and her lips were buzzing with the heat from the kiss. Trying desperately to regain her composure, Gaz removed her hands and wiped her sleeve across her mouth, taking a deep breath before speaking.

"That was…disgusting." She said unconvincingly, her face still red and sweating. She then looked back over her shoulder at Zim but still avoided eye contact. "Well…was I right then?"

Zim sat on the floor looking dumbfounded as he stared up at her speechlessly.

"That's what I thought. So much for being inferior and worthless."

When Zim did not reply, Gaz sighed and staring straight ahead once more, folding her arms. "Look, I appreciate everything you've done for me but, we should end things here. Trying to get involved with someone like me is…not a good idea. I don't believe in that sappy, gooey, romantic lovey dovey junk. Besides, I'll only end up hurting you, probably more physically then emotionally. I mean seriously, only a moronic masochist would actually want to pursue something with a girl like-"

Before Gaz could finish her sentence, she felt a hand grab her shoulder and spin her around. Zim, who was back on his feet, quickly grabbed both sides of her face and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her even harder than she original did. Gaz's eyes popped open as she felt the Irken wrap his arms around her and reciprocate what was supposed to be a mocking display of affection. Now she was the one trying to pry Zim off but he refused to let go, holding her body firmly against his own.

Finally after much struggling, Gaz was able to break off the kiss and push Zim away. The two stared at each other for a moment, breathing heavily as new, confusing feelings began to overtake them. At first Gaz felt a wave of panic and wanted to run, but as she looked up into Zim's large red eyes, her knees became weak and she couldn't move. Zim was feeling similar emotions, only these were telling him to move forward. He started going in for another kiss but Gaz quickly grabbed him and held him at arm's length. Zim looked mildly disappointed but could see that she wasn't pushing him away out of anger, but rather fear and uncertainty.

Wanting to calm her down, Zim lifted a hand toward Gaz's face. Gaz flinched slightly but didn't struggle as Zim began to caressing her face with his finger. Enjoying the touch, Gaz relaxed a little, loosening her grip on Zim's arms. Zim moved in slowly and cupped her chin, lifting her face toward his. She gazed up at him through half-lidded eyes as he leaned in for another kiss, this time starting softly so as to savor the touch and taste of her lips against his. Though she was rigid at first, Gaz felt her defenses quickly melt away and wrapped her arms around Zim's neck, holding him close as she parted her mouth and deepened the kiss. Zim felt his insides squirming with excitement as Gaz began kissing him back, causing him to tighten his hold on her and deepen the kiss further. Soon they were completely entangled with each other, with Zim running his fingers through Gaz's hair while she gently caressed his back, both now oblivious to everything around them as they continued to savor the sweetness of their kiss.

Just then the door burst open and Dib came stumbling into the room, his clothes in tatters and riddled with laser marks. "Ugh, oh man that was close! Hey Gaz are you still here? You won't believe what sort of crazy adventure I had on the way to the closet! I came across this weird looking banana thing and suddenly I was- WHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?"

Dib stood rooted to ground aghast, his jaw dropped to the point of almost hitting the floor. His panicked eyes became wide and blood shot as he watched a horrible scene take place before him: His little sister was locking lips with his worst enemy, their arms wrapped firmly around each other and kissing so deeply, a crow bar wouldn't be able to separate them. Dib felt an intense nausea creep up into his throat and turned away as he threw up a little in his mouth. Swallowing it back, Dib looked over again, hoping what he just saw was due to some blunt-force head trauma. Unfortunately for him, the same sight met his eyes and he felt himself start to become sick again.

"What! How? GAZ!?" Dib shouted his mouth agape in total shock.

Upon hearing her brother's voice, Gaz abruptly broke off the kiss and gasped in horror at his sudden presence. Zim briefly looked confused but then also let out a panicked gasp once he realized Dib had been watching them. All three stood still staring at one another, unable to make a move or process what was happening. After a few moments, Dib angrily furrowed his eyebrows, clenched his shaking fist and let out a deep menacing growl which quickly turned into a scream as he lunged toward Zim, who was still rooted to the spot by panic.

Right before Dib was about to punch Zim's face, Gaz stepped in and grabbed Dib's fist. He paused in surprise and was about to respond when Gaz grimaced and reared her head back, slamming it hard against his. Dib went flying into the air, landing hard against both the wall and onto the floor. He let out a wimpy groan before closing his eyes and blacking out.

"Whoa!" Zim exclaimed, watching as Gaz stood over her brother's body.

"That's for trying to ruin my first kiss you stupid lame wad!" Gaz said, giving a swift kick to the unconscious Dib.

"That was AMAZING!" Zim exclaimed as he grabbed her arm and snuggled against her. "You were absolutely incredible my hard-headed space warrior! The way you bashed his head in with your own was soo…powerfully alluring!"

Gaz looked taken aback by Zim sudden display of affection and compliments but seeing the proud smile on his face as he gazed up admirably at her, made her smile and lean slightly into his embrace.

"So…what should we do with him then?" Zim said as he glanced down at Dib. "Stick him in a cell? Torture him? Ooh! How about we remove his organs and put them in several different animals so he has to search all over the world to get them back? I'm liking that plan!"

Gaz stood up straighter as she thought over his suggestion. "Eh, it's alright I guess. Though it might requires too many animals and will probably cause a mess. We do have to go back to Skool tomorrow after all…"

Gaz then paused as an idea suddenly came to mind. An evil smirk crossed her face as she came up with a wickedly brilliant idea. "Actually…I think I may have a plan that'll help solve more than one problem."

Zim looked at her curiously as she grabbed their two game controllers and held one out to him.

"Still up that rematch Zim?" Gaz asked.

Zim looked questioningly at the controller and noticed the evil glint in her eye. Zim grinned evilly as well and grabbed it, eager to hear what Gaz had in store for Dib.


	14. The End Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim and Gaz come up with a solution to deal with Dib

Chapter 15: The End Game

Some time passed and Dib soon awoke to find himself laying on a cold, tile covered floor with no memory of how he got there.

"Ugh...what happened?" Dib asked as he sat up. Rubbing his aching head, he squinted through the darkness before realizing he was in some sort of dimly lit hallway. Standing up woozily, Dib leaned against the wall with one hand and rubbed his sore forehead with the other.

"How'd I get here? Last thing I remember, I was trying to stop Zim from sucking my sister's face off..." Dib said adjusting his glasses. "Just where am I exactly?"

As Dib glanced at the wall, he realized his hand was leaning against a cold metal door that had a small combination lock on it. In fact, the whole wall was lined with metal doors on both sides, which were wedged in between bulletin boards, water fountains and pictures of children hand-prints painted to look like turkeys.

"Wait. I'm at…skool?" Dib asked out loud. "No. That's not right. If I were in skool right now, I'd be running into-"

"You are late. Present hall pass!"

Just then, Dib heard loud footprints behind him and quickly turned. Two hallway monitor robots appeared and stomped their way over to Dib who quickly backed away from them.

"Oh no, not again!" Dib exclaimed covering his face. "Please don't send me back into the scary room!"

"MUWHAHAHAHA! Foolish Earth boy!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Dib looked up at the robots, which had stopped in place and leaned downwards. The chest plate on the first robot then opened up, revealing the face of a certain cackling green alien.

"Zim!?" Dib exclaimed.

"Hello Dib!" Zim said grinning evilly. "Hope you had a pleasant nap!"

"What's going on!? Why am I at skool? How did you get inside the hallway robots?"

"Hehe, foolish Dib. I'm not INSIDE the robot." Zim said, his face glitching as the camera zoomed outward, revealing himself sitting on a living room couch. "This is merely a projected image. Right now you're seeing me through a monitor, which is currently being filmed from the comfort of my own base. As for why you're here well, hehe, that requires an explanation. You see thanks to your constant stupidness and your subsequent crashing of my ship, my gaming system was destroyed, meaning Gaz and I couldn't finish our match. So we tried coming up with ways to continue our battle while also dealing with your annoying insolence. Luckily, I, ZIM! Came up with a solution that takes care of both problems at once."

"I think you mean 'we' came up with the solution you jerk."

Suddenly the other robots chest plate opened, revealing a similar monitor with Gaz on it, who appeared to be sitting on the same couch, leaning back with one arm behind her head as she casually ate a slice of pizza. "Sup?"

"Gaz! What are you still doing at Zim's place? Why aren't you escaping? And, where did you get that pizza?"

"Um, pizza guy, duh." Gaz said taking another bite. "GIR got us a good discount on several large pies."

"I BLEW UP A DELIVERY VAN!" GIR exclaimed, appearing at the corner of the screen with several smoldering pizza boxes. Quickly he rolled up one of the pies and shoved the whole thing into his mouth.

"Besides, I need something to nibble on if I'm gonna spend the next hour or so blasting your sorry butt." Gaz said finishing up her slice.

"Wait what?" Dib asked.

"Alright, alright, fine! We BOTH came up with the idea for the game we're about to play." Zim said with reluctant annoyance. "Admittedly it is a perfectly fitting game. It's called…'Find the Dib.'"

The robots then stood up and readied their blaster guns, causing Dib to quickly back away.

"As you can see, I managed to hack into the skool's security systems, meaning not only can I control the robots, but I can monitor your movements as well. The object of the game is to see which one of us can track you down and annihilate you first." Zim explained. "The rules are simple. You have the entire skool building in which to hide and beg for your worthless life, not that it'll do any good. Oh and don't bother trying to escape. We've locked all the doors and windows and filled the vents with flesh eating scorpions. So if you value that organ sack you call flesh, I suggest you do as we say and get moving."

"That's not fair!" Dib argued. "Don't I at least get a weapon or a head start or something?"

Zim let out a mocking laugh. "Ha! I'm afraid not you smelly, big headed-"

"Sure why not?"

Both Zim and Dib looked over in surprise at Gaz, who had grabbed another slice from GIR before continuing. "We'll give you a five minute head start. You can use the weapons you have stored in your locker."

"What!?" Zim exclaimed.

Dib blinked twice. "Wow, um, thanks Gaz!"

"Eh heh, could you excuse us for a second?" Zim asked sheepishly before turning off the camera.

Back at the alien base, Zim jumped off the newly refurbished living room couch and walked up to GIR, who was seated on the floor attempting to shove another pizza pie into his mouth.

"GIR, go to the other room and do something stupid for a while. The superior beings need to talk."

"Mmm Kmmayy!" GIR said with a full mouth as he saluted Zim and rushed off toward the kitchen, crashing into the wall before screaming his way over into the next room.

Zim stood before the TV screen and cameras, hands on his hips and glaring angrily at Gaz, who continued to nonchalantly eat her pizza.

"What?" She asked with a full mouth.

"Just what exactly do you think you're doing? Giving him a head start, allowing access to his private weaponry? I thought the object of the game was to destroy Dib, not help him out!"

Gaz swallowed her pizza. "Relax. It's all part of the plan. First we pretend to show him mercy, then we-"

"Irkens do NOT show mercy, pretending or otherwise!" Zim argued. "Irkens destroy their enemies and take what they want, WHEN they want it!"

"Irkens are also idiots that blow things up without thinking, if you're any indication." Gaz replied as Mini-Moose floated over, handing her a can of Fizzy Poop which she opened and took a quick swig from. "I mean think about it. If we chase after him now, the game will be over in five seconds. Totally boring if you ask me. BUT, if we give him a head start, then the real fun begins. We can hunt him down like a wild animal, taunting him, make him all nervous and paranoid, maybe possibly shoot one of his limbs off. It's all about giving him that small glimmer of false hope that he could possibly escape, before we swoop in at the last moment and blow that arrogant smirk off his face...and hey, if none of that works, we can always set up a ton of booby traps in the hallways to maim him instead."

Zim looked at Gaz in amazement. "That is the most awful, sadistic thing I've ever heard spoken by a human being in all my time on Earth…IT'S SO GENIUS!" He exclaimed before rushing forward and hugged her affectionately. "I love the way your horrid little mind works."

Gaz smirked as she stroked the top of his head. "I knew you'd see it my way. So...shall we then?" Zim looked up and nodded vigorously.

Back at skool, Dib tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Zim and Gaz to return.

"Man, what's taking them so long? Do they really expect me to wait around for-" Dib paused. "Hold on! What am I doing? I should be escaping right now!"

As Dib was about to make a run for it, he felt a giant robot hand close around him and lift him up. He then found himself staring back at the faces of Zim and Gaz, who reappeared on the monitors.

"Okay stink breath, we'll be generous and allow you a ten minute head start, as well as full access to your locker." Zim relented. "But before we let you go, you should know that we set up some 'obstacles' for you along the way. If you manage to get past those in one piece, let it be known that when we do find you, there will be no holding back from your complete and utter annihilation!"

Dib glared back determinedly. "That's fine with me! Cause once I get a hold of my weapons, you're the one who'll be facing utter annihilation! Then I'll escape this place and free Gaz from your control, once and for all!"

"Pff. Good luck with that." Gaz scoffed as she took a sip of soda.

"The time starts now." Zim said dropping Dib to the floor. "Good luck Earth stink."

Dib stood up as he rubbed his aching backside, glared hatefully up at Zim, then turned and ran off, disappearing around the corner.

"Ten….nine…..eight…" Zim counted to himself.

"What are you doing?" Gaz asked.

Zim did not respond and continued to count down to zero. Once he finished, he began moving his robot in the direction of Dib's locker.

"Wait, where are you going?" Gaz asked. "The ten minutes aren't up yet."

"Ten minutes? I thought I said ten seconds?" Zim asked in a fake surprised tone. "Oh dear I must not have been clear enough…"

He then smiled evilly at Gaz, who realized what he was doing and smirked in amusement. "Oh you are bad."

"You know I am." Zim said, making his robot stand to the side and gesture forward. "Evil Earth geniuses first."

Gaz chuckled and moving her robot forward so that both were now stomping off together in search of Dib. She then scooted closer to Zim, leaning her head against his shoulder much to his delight.

"So um…we never made it clear what the winner will get when they destroy Dib." Gaz pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Zim asked. "Winner gets bragging rights, as per usual."

"Well yeah but, we can't exactly use the same conditions as before. I think we should…renegotiate a bit."

Zim arched an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

Gaz paused before sitting up and smiled mischievously. "How about this. If I destroy Dib first...you have to be my slave for life and pledge your eternal loyalty to me."

Zim turned sharply. "What!?"

"You heard me." Gaz said, now keeping a straight face. "If I win, you have to stay by my side, do whatever I say, pay for all my stuff and constantly worship me, no matter what I do or say, regardless of whether or not I'm right. In exchange, I may just do the same for you."

"But, I, wha- Hang on…isn't that the definition of an Earth relationship?" Zim asked, feeling confused.

"No. Relationships involve affection and pet names. I'm asking for obedience and an authoritative title. If you plan on hanging around me, you better be prepared to do whatever it takes to make me happy forever…or at least till I get bored with you and move on."

"Why you wretched, filthy, horrid little-" Zim was about to get angry but noticed the sly smirk that threatened to take over Gaz's face. Realizing what she was really getting at, a small smile crept across his face and chuckled in amusement. "Very well then. In that case, I have a condition of my own. WHEN Zim destroys Dib first, not only will you be his slave, but you will also allow Zim to call you his love pig."

"What?" Gaz asked in disbelief.

"In public." Zim added, smirking evilly. "And you will cater to any and all Earthly couple activities I decide to subject you to."

Gaz glared at Zim. While her initial instinct was to be angry, she found herself strangely unbothered by the thought of Zim taking her out on dates and calling her pet names. In fact, she found some of it strangely...endearing. She also noticed the mischievous smirk on his face, as if he were daring her to fight with him.

Deciding to take the high road, she smirked back in amusement and held out her hand. "Alright then, I'll take that gamble. Whoever loses shall become the winner's slave for life, complete with eternal affection and total obedience. Deal?"

"Deal." Zim said shaking her hand, feeling oddly pleased with the terms.

"Although, you may wanna re-pick a title for me." Gaz added. "Something that sounds less gross then 'Love Pig'."

Zim paused as he thought over her suggestion. "What does your species call their significant other?"

Gaz looked at Zim and blushed slightly to his surprise. "Well, at this stage… I guess you'd probably call me your girlfriend or something lame like that and I…would probably call you my boyfriend."

"Ugh, those titles sound boring." Zim groaned. "Isn't there anything more mighty or fear inducing you can call me?"

"Hmm." Gaz thought to herself. "Can't really think of anything suitable to call a servant. But you can call me master if you want."

"What the-Zim is servant to no master!" He declared. "I demand you pick another title! How about, 'Grand High Warrior' and 'Demanding Wench'?"

"Excuse me? I think 'Lackey' is more suitable to you and 'Earth Overlord' for me."

"Never! 'Super Doomy Irk Commander' and 'Grouchy Sidekick' sounds much better!"

"How about 'Errand monkey' and 'Puppet Master'?"

"How about no?"

Both paused before their tempers flared up and thought about more alternate titles.

"What about…" Gaz thought. "Partner?"

"Partner?" Zim asked.

"Yeah. It's a neutral term, may or may not mean romantic, plus it puts us on equal levels."

"Hmm…Very well. Partner it is then. And perhaps...Ruthless Invader in secret?"

"I can live with that." Gaz smirked. "Partner."

Zim smiled a little before GIR burst into the room from the kitchen holding up a giant jar of mayo. "I'mmm back! Whoo wants extra sauce on their pizza?"

* * *

 

As Zim had implied, getting to his locker wasn't easy. Dib had to run through laser grids, jump over spikes, dodge falling buzz saws, and even outrun a pack of rabid hamsters in order to get to the hallway where his locker was. Finally after leaping through a wall of flames, Dib was within range of his locker.

"Ugh…uhh…finally." Dib gasped as he breathed heavily. "I'm only five steps away from…OH COME ON!"

Looking down the hallway, Dib was flabbergasted to find that the floor was completely covered in lava.

"How did he even get the lava in here?" Dib wondered out loud. "What the-?"

Looking toward his locker, he noticed there were a bunch of small platforms floating in midair above the lava. They appeared to be leading toward a small patch of floor in front of his locker, the only spot not covered in lava.

"Okay this is weirdly convenient..."

Seeing there was no other way over, Dib took a few steps back and ran forward, leaping into the air and landing on a floating platform. Just as he managed to steady himself, the platform lurched below him and started to crumble. Dib immediately leaped off before it disintegrated and landed on another platform, which also began crumbling away.

"Oh cut me a break already!"

Quickly Dib leaped from platform to platform, somehow managing to jump across all of them before finally landing safely in front of his locker.

"Whew! Made it, surprisingly. I'll have to question the possibility and physics of all this later though."

Dib managed to get his locker open fairly quickly and began rummaging through his weapon collection to find something suitable.

"Not this…not this…aha! Perfect!" Dib said holding up a giant blaster gun. He then put on a helmet and lowered the visor, activating the targeting system. "Oh yeah! Zim is going down now!"

Not a moment too soon, Dib heard loud footsteps and was outraged to see the robots emerge from around the corner.

"Hey that wasn't ten minutes!"

"Oops. Guess my watch must've broke." Zim shrugged. "Oh well, TIME TO IMPLODE!"

Both robots then started blasting Dib, who ducked behind his locker door and was barely able to dodge the shots. Behind him, one of the blasts struck a water fountain, causing water to gush from the wall and over the lava, cooling it until it hardened into rock. Seeing his new escape path, Dib rushed toward the opposite side of the hallway and turn back to shoot the robots with his blaster.

"Ha! You'll never take me alive!"

"That's the point you idiot!" Gaz called out as she went to shoot him in the face and barely missed.

The three continued to fire at each other, with Dib jumping around and managing to dodge the robots with surprising agility. He even managed to shoot the robots a couple times, gradually damaging their armor and slowing their movements. However his luck didn't last as he soon ran into a dead end, the two cornering him as their readied their blasters.

"You're mine Dib!" Zim said, holding up his blaster.

"No, he's mine!" Gaz said, knocking him aside to get a clear shot.

As the two continued elbowing each other, Dib was secretly warming up his blaster to its highest setting.

"He's my arch enemy so I will be the one to destroy him!" Zim argued, his robot pulling Gaz's into a full nelson.

"I was his arch enemy since before I was born!" Gaz argued back as she struggled to get free.

"Hey guys, where'd the Big Head go?" GIR asked, popping up at the bottom of the screen to look around while he licked up a slice of mayo covered pizza.

Both stopped arguing long enough to notice Dib had disappeared from sight. They turned around in time to see Dib stand behind them with his blaster at the ready.

"Eat laser you jerks!"

With one shot, Dib blasted through both of the robots torsos, causing them to power down and collapse to the ground.

"YES! I did it! I defeated both of you!" Dib declared victoriously. "Looks like your plan backfired Zim. As if you could take me down that easily. Now watch as I make my escape right in front of you! HAHAHAHA!!!"

As Dib ran off to find an exit, the robots began to glitch and dissolve into a static mess.

"Ugh! Curse that repulsive sneak! Now I have to reset the coding and adjust the settings all over again."

Zim then pressed a few buttons on his controller, selecting a menu where he re-added a few enhancements to their robots, along with a couple extras. He then brought up a control screen that read 'Start again?" and pressed the button, causing their robots to disappear and re-spawn into brand new robots.

"I enhanced our robot's firepower and armor endurance. Should be more resilient this time around, especially against that blaster of his." Zim explained. "Seriously, what were you thinking giving him access to his weapons? You know that foul, big headed, eye breather always has some sneaky way of getting ahead."

"I'll say. I forgot about that targeting helmet he built last week. Wait, why'd you add that in anyways?" Gaz asked.

"Well I WAS trying to make it realistic." Zim said rolling his eyes. "Besides it was in his locker along with the rest of his primitive Earth junk."

"Pff, whatever. This round stunk." Gaz said, throwing down her controller and folded her arms in annoyance.

"Fret not my devious Earth companion, for I, ZIM, have another trick up my sleeve." Zim said as he picked up Gaz's controller and held it towards her. "Shall we redeem ourselves with a second round then?"

"Hmm, I suppose so. I really don't want to end the night with an embarrassing loss like that." Gaz said, taking the controller from Zim. "Seriously though, if he wasn't in the simulation chamber right now, I'd totally headbutt him into oblivion again."

Drawing their guns, the robots set off in search of Dib again.

"So how long do think it'll take Dib to figure out the entire thing is a game?" Gaz asked.

"Probably a while. He does have a stupidly thick head after all." Zim said.

"I'll say. It's been ten years and he still thinks our neighbor's hairy kid is a BigFeets clone." Gaz snickered.

"It's just as well. We can get far more amusement out of watching him flail about on the security camera."

Zim then pressed a button on his controller, causing a small screen to appear on the corner of the monitor. Zooming in, it showed Dib inside the simulation chamber wearing gloves along with a large helmet on his head, jumping about as he wielded invisible weapons and letting out occasional bursts of laughter.

Gaz snorted in amusement. "Wow what a loser. And he doesn't notice anything outside the helmet?"

"Of course not. I designed the helmet for deep immersion and to block out all outside distractions."

Gaz grinned. "We should totally go in and smear stuff on his face later."

"I already got the rancid mayo and dog doody on standby." Zim said proudly.

"Ohhhh…dats what dis was for?" GIR asked, holding up the jar full of green fuzzy mayo. He paused, then continued slurping away at the contents.

"Ah well, least we still have the dog doody." Zim shrugged.

"Heehee, doody." GIR giggled to himself.

Gaz chuckled as well as she tucked her hair behind her ear. She then glanced sideways at Zim and leaned over to plant a kiss on his cheek.

Zim felt his face flush and his spooch tighten as she snuggled against him and smiled happily. He then took one hand off his controller and wrapped it around her shoulder, holding her close while he continued to play with one hand.

After some searching, the two finally came upon Dib who was trying to force open the front door of the skool.

"Stupid door, why won't you budge?" Dib said, groaning under the strain.

"Halt. Present hall pass to your doom, you big headed barf can!"

Dib stopped and was surprised to see the hall monitoring robots back along with Zim and Gaz's faces.

"What the-? How did you-? Ugh never mind! I'll just beat you again like I did last time!" Dib then readied his weapon like before and prepared to fire. However Zim head up his new blaster and instantly disintegrated Dib's gun to ashes.

"What? No way! How-"

"Oh did I mention we got upgrades?" Zim said showing off his new weapon. "You know how games are Dib. Defeat your enemies in the first round, fight stronger ones in the next. It's a good way to keep things interesting."

"Then I should get better weapons too by that logic!" Dib debated. "At least make it fair!"

"Don't worry, you'll get an upgraded weapon too." Gaz said. "They're just on the opposite side of the school in the music room. Good luck getting to them. You can have a fifteen minute head start this time."

"Don't you mean fifteen seconds?" Dib asked skeptically.

"Oh, well if you insist." Zim said smirking. "Fifteen…fourteen…"

"AHHHHH!" Dib screamed as he ran back down the hall in the direction of the music room.

Gaz let out a snort of laughter. "Man, I love how easily you're able to mess with him."

Zim smirked. "And I love how easily you're able to make him believe your lies. Weapons in the music room, good one…"

"Hey, I had to give him false hope somehow." Gaz shrugged. "Although, how about this time, we actually give him the fifteen minutes head start? So he has time to find the weapon that doesn't exist?"

Zim raised a skeptical eyebrow. "There you go showing mercy again. Should I be worried?"

"Please, this is all part of my plan to mess with him." Gaz explained. "That aside though, I really do kinda owe Dib one…"

"Owe him one?" Zim asked.

Gaz nodded. "I mean, if it wasn't for him, you and I wouldn't be sitting here together like we are now…right, partner?"

Zim thought for a moment and smiled. "Yes I suppose your right…partner." He then began tapping buttons rapidly into his controller, causing the screen to glitch a little.

"What are you doing?" Gaz asked.

"Adding a weapon to the music room." Zim said as he finished putting in the code. "I too owe the Dib a debt of sorts for making my stay on Earth much more interesting, constant annoyances aside. Not to mention...sending me someone who vastly improves the quality of my existence on this dirtball planet."

Gaz smiled and leaned over, hitting the pause button on Zim's controller before taking it out of Zim's hands.

"Hey! What the-? Give that back!"

Gaz did the same to her own and set the controllers aside before turning back to Zim, who gazed curiously upon her and blushed as she slipped her hands into his.

"You know Zim, I've been thinking…we've been spending all this time together, destroying creatures, fighting side by side, messing with my brother…and its made me realize something…"

"What's that?" Zim asked as Gaz leaned closer to his face. He closed his eyes, waiting for her to kiss him, but instead she stopped just short of his lips and smirked.

"You are without a doubt…the worse invader ever."

Zim's eyes snapped open in shock and he scowled angrily at her. "What!? How dare you degrade Zim! Why I outta-"

Gaz then put her hand over his mouth and leaned in close to whisper. "Which is why, no one will ever see it coming when we manage to conquer both of our planets together."

Zim gazed in bewilderment at Gaz as she removed her hand from his mouth. "Uhh…come again?"

"You said it yourself. Neither humans nor Irkens think highly of you, nor do they take you seriously. It's the same thing for me. Which means they won't see it coming when you and I launch a coup to take over both Irk and the Earth. It'll take some time to plan and a lot of resources of course, but if we do it right, we could take both planets by surprise and have them in our grasps within a year or so. You have the technology, I have the ideas. You can build the weapons and create an unstoppable army; I'll come up with battle strategies and distract my stupid brother from ruining them. Together, we will make the whole universe bow down and worship us."

Zim stared at Gaz aghast. "Are you seriously suggesting we overthrow the Tallests, take over Irken rule and use the resources from Operation Impending Doom II to enslave Earth and eventually the entire universe?"

Gaz smirked and nodded determinedly.

Zim's eyes sparkled with amazement and he responded by grabbed her and kissing her fiercely. Gaz wrapped her arms firmly around him, the two falling backwards onto the couch as they fought for control over each others lips. After a few moments of intense kissing, Zim broke away, breathing heavily as he looked upon her.

"You do realize if we do this, we'll be committing universal treason of the highest order?" Zim asked. "If we're caught or our plan fails, we'll be executed and our corpses publicly flayed across several star systems."

"And your point?" Gaz asked.

"No point. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page is all." Zim said, smirking down at her as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I love how diabolical and committed to evil you are…partner."

Gaz smiled and slipped her hand over his, nuzzling against it. "And I love how you embrace the evil within me…ruthless invader."

Zim felt his insides leap with joy and pressed another kiss to Gaz's lips. Gaz reciprocated, kissing Zim sweetly and wrapping her arms around him, holding him close. She did however pause briefly to ask a question.

"So now that we're both on board with this universal domination thing, when did you want to get started? After we finish the game?"

Zim stopped briefly to think before getting an idea as he looked over to GIR, who had somehow gotten the jar of Mayo stuck on his head and was trying to pull it off with the help of Mini-Moose.

* * *

 

Inside the music room, Dib had spent the past fifteen minutes searching frantically for the weapon Gaz had spoken of.

"Come on, come on! They're gonna be hear any minute! Where is that- AHA!"

Dib then spotted a giant sledgehammer under the piano and pulled it out. "Well, it may not be a blaster, but at least I can do some damage."

Just then the doors burst open and Zim and Gaz's robots stepped inside. Only it wasn't their faces being displayed on the monitors.

"We're heeeeeere!" GIR said cheerfully, his head still stuck in a jar of mayo.

"NYAH!" Mini-Moose squeaked.

Dib gasped and tightened his grip on the sledgehammer. "You two!? But, where are Gaz and Zim?"

"They's taking a snack break to do some sciencey stuff!" GIR explained. "Now it's our turn to blows you up!"

"Nyah!" Mini-Moose squeaked in agreement.

Dib clenched his grip on the sledgehammer. "Well I don't care who I fight. Cause your both going down! AHHHHHHHH!"

Dib then lifted the sledgehammer high and charged at GIR's robot, slamming the hammer hard against its leg.

*SQUEAK*

Dib paused and was shocked to see that the sledgehammer was actually a giant inflatable hammer.

"Oh come on!" He said smacking the hammer uselessly against the robot's leg, until the Mini-Moose shot a laser through it causing it to deflate.

"Oh poop." Dib then ran off screaming while GIR and Mini-Moose gave chase.

Meanwhile in the underground lab, Zim and Gaz were watching footage of the game on the dual monitors and laughing in amusement. One screen showed the game while the other showed GIR and Mini-Moose sitting on the couch operating the controllers.

"Haha! Look at him run! He's like a frightened little gopher, only with a big head instead of big teeth." Zim pointed out. "By the way, which one am I again?"

"You're Mini-Moose. I'm GIR." Gaz replied.

"Ha! Then my victory is all but imminent!" Zim declared.

"Don't celebrate just yet." Gaz smirked. "GIR may be stupid, but he's also stupidly lucky."

Sure enough, a big blast was heard followed by a scream from Dib.

"Woohoo! I blasted him right in the butt cheek!"

Zim let out a harrumph and turned away. "He still failed to destroy him. Give it time, I'm sure Mini-Moose will catch up. In the meantime, we should get started on our plans."

Gaz then followed Zim over to his work table. It was covered in dozens of rolled up blue prints Zim had designed since coming to Earth. He also had all his tools out as well as several alien-esc devices used for building.

"So all of these are your plans for taking over Earth?" Gaz asked as she opened one of the blue prints.

"Yes, and what glorious plans they are! Each one more fiendishly evil and cleverly constructed then the last! Why the mere concept of some of these plans would bring the bravest of Earth worms crying to his knees in fear!" Zim declared.

"This plan involves covering the world in chocolate pudding. And this one filling the Earths atmosphere with cheeto dust." Gaz said she glanced at a couple of the blue prints. "And this one involves stuffing everyone's chimneys with taco meat...wow you use a lot of food in your plans."

"Eh? Oh those the food based Earth conquest plans. There's animal based ones to your left. That one there involves robotic sheep. Imagine, torturing the world by smothering everyone in scratchy wool that shoots lasers beams when you sleep!" Zim said excitedly.

Gaz stared at him skeptically. "Yeah...why don't we put all this in the maybe pile...as in maybe we'll burn this in the furnace later. Seriously Zim, all these plans are awful."

"No they're not! You just don't yet see the geniusness of my genius work yet!" Zim snapped back.

"This plan involves using a million hairdryers to heat up the Earth's temperature so the world will spontaneously combust." Gaz threw him a dirty look. "Logic of that aside, I thought you were trying to conquer the Earth, not destroy it?"

"Okay so that one was a little extreme, but it's still doable. I do have a phase two that involves gluing the exploded pieces back together."

Gaz rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Yeah okay, how about instead of destroying the thing we're trying to take over, we THREATEN to destroy it? That way the government has no choice but to cater to us and we can get access to money, tech and resources we couldn't get otherwise? For example, you can say that you're going to use your 'hairdryers' to melt the polar ice caps, that way they cause a rise in water levels that could flood the entire world."

"Bah! That's a stupid idea! Why would I threaten to destroy something for material gain-" Zim then paused as he thought for a moment as his eyes widened in comprehensions. "Ohhhhhh...oh that's good. You're good."

Gaz smirked. "Now you're getting it."

Just then they heard a loud explosion and immediately rushed over to the monitors.

"GIR report!" Zim demanded.

"We blew up the big head kid!" GIR said, waving the controller around and gesturing to the TV screen, where Dib laid in a smoldering crater, his clothes tattered and smoke emitting from him. He let out a loud groan as his limbs twitched and a tooth fell out of his mouth.

"Aww, he's still moving." GIR frowned in disappointment before instantly perking up. "Oh well! You guys wanna blow him up now?"

Zim thought for a moment then shook his head. "Nah. We can always destroy him tomorrow. For now, just unplug him from the simulator and stick him in a test tube or something for the night."

"Okie Dokie!" GIR saluted, gesturing to Mini-Moose before they started leaving the room, smiling at the couple and giggling. "Have fun you two! Play nice! Heehee!"

Zim rolled his eyes as he turned off the screen. Gaz then walked up to him looking skeptical. "You do realize we have skool in the morning right?"

"Pff. Please. You and I are beyond the need for worthless skool!" Zim declared. "Once we finish destroying Dib, we can get started our ultimate plan! Operation overthrow the tallest and use the armada to take over…the planets and…universe…thingy...yeah, the names gonna need some work."

"Hmm...I guess I can see your point. Still we'll have to go to Skool sometime, if only to avoid suspicion."

"Yes I suppose you're right. But I don't think an extra day off will hurt anyone...besides Dib that is."

Gaz let out a snicker. "Tell you what, whoever manages to destroy Dib first in tomorrow's game, gets to pick the name for our plan. I like 'Operation Super Mega Death Strike' myself."

"That name is so cool-! Da, I mean. I could come up with something better." Zim said smugly folding his arms.

Gaz smirked and shook her head before offering her hand. "Well then...shall we get started on the plans, my soon to be Tallest?"

Zim felt pride swell in his chest in hearing the title she gave him and took her hand, squeezing it slightly as he bowed to her. "By all means, future Overlord of Earth."

Gaz beamed at Zim. Sharing a brief kiss, the two got to work on their blue prints, as they began to plan their soon to be ultimate conquest for world domination.

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you enjoyed my final chapter :) Feel free to read my other works as well. A big thank you to everyone who left reviews. You're the best!


End file.
